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GIFT  OF 
Rev.   Ralph  Hunt 


Teaching  of  Religion 

By  REV.   P.  C.  YORKE,  D.   D. 


AN   ADDRESS  DELIVERED   AT  THE   ANNUAL 
CONVENTION    OF    THE    CATHOLIC    EDUCA- 
TIONAL  ASSOCIATION,   AT   SAN   FRANCISCO, 
CALIFORNIA,  TUESDAY,  JULY  23,   1918. 


SAN  FRANCISCO: 

THE  TEXT  BOOK  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

675  Stevenson  Street 

1918 


Teaching  of  Religion 


By  REV.   P.   C.   YORKE,   D.   D. 

/I 


AN   ADDRESS  DELIVERED    AT  THE   ANNUAL 
CONVENTION     OF    THE     CATHOLIC    EDUCA- 
TIONAL  ASSOCIATION,  AT   SAN   FRANCISCO, 
CALIFORNIA,  TUESDAY,   JULY  23,   1918. 


SAN  FRANCISCO: 

THE  TEXT  BOOK  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

675  Stevenson  Street 

1918 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress 

In  the  year  1918 

By  P.  C.  YORKE 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress 
Washington,  D.  C. 


57 


Imprimatur 

*  ED.  J.  HANNA,  D.  D. 

Metrop.,  S.  F.,  Cal. 


Teaching  of  Religion 


By  REV.   P.   C.   YORKE,   D.   D. 


AN  ADDRESS   DELIVERED  AT  THE  ANNUAL 
CONVENTION    OF    THE    CATHOLIC    EDUCA- 
TIONAL  ASSOCIATION,  AT   SAN   FRANCISCO, 
CALIFORNIA,  TUESDAY,  JULY  23,   1918. 


IN  our  Church  legislation  concerning 
Catholic  schools  the  chief  reason  given 
for  their  necessity  is  our  duty  to  safe- 
guard the  faith  and  morals  of  the  children. 
In  this  country  and  in  our  day  there  is  an- 
other and  a  positive  reason  for  the  establish- 
ment of  Catholic  schools,  namely,  that  with- 
out such  schools  we  cannot  teach  religion  at 
all.  Hence,  putting  aside  the  intrinsic  value 
of  religion  as  the  greatest  thing  in  the  world, 
and  looking  on  the  matter  from  the  purely 
scholastic  standpoint,  the  teaching  of  reli- 
gion is  the  most  important  function  of  the 
Catholic  school.  Any  Catholic  school  that 
does  not  give  to  the  teaching  of  religion  at 
least  the  same  care,  the  same  skill  and  the 

797980 


Importance  of  Religious  Teaching. 

same  efficiency  that  it  gives  to  other  subjects, 
is  like  the  fig  tree  the  Lord  cursed,  not  only 
because  it  bears  no  fruit,  but  because  its 
very  verdure  is  a  snare  to  the  parents  that 
trust  it,  and  a  fraud  on  the  Church  that 
maintains  it. 

Therefore,  in  taking  up  the  subject  of  the 
"Teaching  of  Religion,"  I  am  deeply  con- 
scious of  its  importance  on  the  one  side,  and 
on  the  other  I  realize  my  personal  limita- 
tions in  giving  it  adequate  treatment.  Many 
large  books  have  been  written  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  more  and  larger  books  might  well 
be  written.  I  do  not  pretend  to  the  peda- 
gogical equipment  necessary  to  produce 
such  works,  and,  besides,  on  an  occasion  like 
this,  a  paper  is  limited  both  by  the  patience 
of  the  audience  and  the  time  at  our  dis- 
posal. For  those  reasons  and  others,  I  will 
confine  myself  to  a  plain,  untechnical  con- 
sideration of  the  problem  as  viewed  by  one 
who  has  no  theories  to  propound  and  no  par- 
ticular methods  to  advocate,  but  is  chiefly 
interested  in  the  aim  that  the  children  under 
his  care  are  taught  religion,  and  are  taught 
it  as  well  as  it  should  be  taught 
6 


Teaching  of  Religion  in  Higher  Schools. 

I  do  not  intend  to  discuss  here  the  teach- 
ing of  religion  in  High  Schools  and  Uni- 
versities. High  School  methods  and  Uni- 
versity methods  are  entirely  different  from 
primary  methods.  The  New  Code  of 
Church  Discipline  says  in  Canon  1373: 
"Juventus  quae  medias  vel  superlores 
scholas  frequentat,  pleniore  religlonis  doc- 
trina  excolatur,  et  locorum  Ordinarli  cureni 
ut  id  fiat  per  sac er dotes  zelo  et  doctrina 
praestantes.'f  That  is  to  say,  "The  young 
people  who  attend  High  Schools  and  Uni- 
versities shall  receive  fuller  religious  in- 
struction, and  the  local  Bishops  shall  see  to 
it  that  such  instruction  is  imparted  by  priests 
who  are  distinguished  by  their  zeal  and 
learning."  The  question  of  teaching  reli- 
gion, therefore,  in  High  Schools  and  Uni- 
versities is  beyond  the  scope  of  this  paper, 
and  may  be  safely  left  to  the  departments  of 
Pedagogy,  which,  in  accordance  with  the 
decrees  of  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of 
Baltimore,  are  established  in  our  ecclesiasti- 
cal seminaries. 

Neither  will  I  inject  myself  into  the  con- 
troversy about  the  place  and  function  of  the 
7 


The  Scope  of  the  Paper. 


Seventh  and  Eighth  Grades  in  our  Ameri- 
can schools.  Your  own  experience  shows 
you  that  the  vast  majority  of  our  children 
are  content  with  six  grades  schooling,  even 
if  they  go  as  far.  The  children  who 
remain  for  the  Seventh  and  Eighth  Grades 
usually  have  the  intention  of  passing  into  a 
High  School  of  some  sort.  Therefore,  the 
character  of  the  instruction  to  be  given  them 
in  religion,  as  in  other  subjects,  should  be 
conformed  to  the  changing  capabilities  of 
the  adolescent  mind.  Hence,  it  will  make 
for  clearness  if  I  circumscribe  the  object  of 
this  paper  still  more  closely  and  confine  it 
to  the  teaching  of  religion  in  the  elementary 
grades,  or,  as  we  used  to  say  in  old  times, 
to  the  preparation  of  the  children  for  the 
Sacraments. 

With  this  purpose  in  view,  let  us  now  con- 
sider briefly: 

I.  What  must  we  teach  the  children? 

II.  How  should  we  teach  it  to  them? 

III.  What  are  the  chief  aids  or  instru- 
ments at  our  disposal  in  teaching? 


What  Must  We  Teach  the  Children? 

I. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  not  very  difficult 
to  discover  how  much  religious  instruc- 
tion the  Church  wishes  us  to  impart  to  the 
children  at  this  stage  of  their  education.The 
theologians  give  us  the  minimum  require- 
ments when  they  explain  the  material  object 
of  faith  and  enumerate  the  truths  we  are 
bound  to  know  and  believe.  Then  the  eccle- 
siastical authorities  have  put  forth  certain 
manuals  commonly  called  Catechisms,  and 
require  a  knowledge  of  the  Christian  Doc- 
trine contained  therein.  These  Catechisms, 
therefore,  contain  what  we  may  call  the 
average  amount  the  average  child  should 
be  supposed  to  know. 

The  great  Jesuit  theologian,  Lehmkuhl, 
in  his  "Moral  Theology,"  numbers  276  to 
284,  treats  of  the  necessity  of  faith  as  far  as 
concerns  the  objects  to  be  believed.  I  will 
make  a  summary  of  his  teaching,  so  that  we 
may  have  before  our  eyes  the  very  skeleton, 
as  it  were,  of  Christian  instruction.  He  is, 
of  course,  writing  not  a  school  program,  but 
is  laying  down  practical  rules  for  the  guid- 
9 


The  Material  Object  of  Faith. 

ance  of  confessors  who  must  be  satisfied  in 
dealing  with  uneducated  penitents  if  they 
can  get  the  irreducible  minimum. 

He  first  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that 
there  are  certain  truths  which  we  must  know 
and  believe  if  we  are  to  have  any  faith  at 
all,  such  as,  for  instance,  the  existence  of 
God.  These  truths,  and  how  far  they  ex- 
tend, do  not  concern  us,  because  they  are 
covered  by  the  second  class  of  truths  which 
we  must  know  and  believe,  because  we  are 
so  commanded  by  Christ  and  His  Church. 
These  truths  are  grouped  round  the  vener- 
able ecclesiastical  formulae  known  as  the 
Apostles'  Creed,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  Ten 
Commandments  and  the  Seven  Sacraments. 
He  says  that  there  is  a  grave  obligation,  that 
is  to  say,  an  obligation  binding  under  pen- 
alty of  mortal  sin,  to  know  the  substance  of 
the  things  contained  in  the  Apostles'  Creed, 
the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Ten  Command- 
ments. He  doubts  if  there  is  a  grave  obli- 
gation to  know  the  Our  Father  by  heart. 
He  asserts  that  to  know  the  Creed  by  heart 
binds  under  pain  of  venial  sin.  The  same 
holds  of  the  Ten  Commandments,  but  with 

10 


The  Apostles'  Creed. 


even  a  lighter  sanction.  As  to  the  Sacra- 
ments, we  are  strictly  bound  to  know  those 
whose  reception  is  necessary,  such  as  Pen- 
ance, Holy  Eucharist,  and,  in  certain  cases, 
Baptism.  As  to  the  others,  we  should  learn 
about  them  when  we  come  to  receive  them. 
Lehmkuhl  then  develops  those  statements 
in  more  detail,  taking  up  the  Apostles' 
Creed  article  by  article. 

FIRST  ARTICLE.  I  believe  in  God.  We 
must  believe  explicitly  that  there  is  one 
God,  and  that  in  this  God  there  are  three 
persons,  each  of  whom  is  God.  That  there 
are  not  three  gods,  but  only  one  God.  That 
the  three  persons  are  called  the  Father,  the 
Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost. 

The  Father  Almighty,  Creator  of  heaven 
and  earth.  We  must  explicitly  believe  in 
the  creation  of  all  things,  and  consequently 
in  the  omnipotence  of  God. 

SECOND  ARTICLE.  And  in  Jesus  Christ, 
His  only  Son,  our  Lord.  We  must  believe 
explicitly  that  Jesus  Christ  is  both  God  and 
Man.  As  God  He  is  equal  to  His  Father 
in  all  things.  He  is  only  one  person,  but 
ii 


The  Apostles'  Creed. 


belief  in  this  point  is  sufficiently  assured  as 
long  as  the  Nestorian  heresy  is  not  held. 

THIRD  ARTICLE.  Who  was  conceived  by 
the  Holy  Ghost.  The  miraculous  concep- 
tion is  certainly  to  be  held  explicitly,  but 
whether  under  pain  of  mortal  sin  is  doubt- 
ful. 

Born  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  The  perpet- 
ual virginity  of  the  B.  V.  Mary  is  also  to 
be  believed  explicitly,  but  the  gravity  of  the 
obligation  is  doubtful. 

FOURTH  ARTICLE.  Suffered  under  Pon- 
tius Pilate,  crucified — dead — and  buried. 
We  must  know,  under  penalty  of  mortal 
sin,  both  the  fact  of  our  Saviour's  death 
and  the  manner  in  which  it  happened, 
namely,  by  crucifixion.  As  to  Pontius 
Pilate,  there  is  no  reason  to  trouble  the 
consciences  of  uneducated  persons  if  they 
are  not  acquainted  with  this  circumstance. 
To  know  the  fact  of  the  burial  does  not 
bind  sub  gravi;  as  they  say,  that  is  under 
pain  of  mortal  sin. 

FIFTH  ARTICLE.  He  descended  into  hell. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  this  circumstance 
as  of  the  burial. 

12 


The  Apostles'  Creed. 


The  third  day  He  rose  again  from  the 
dead.  We  must  explicitly  believe  in  the 
resurrection  under  penalty  of  mortal  sin, 
but  the  circumstance  of  time,  namely,  that 
He  rose  the  third  day  is  not  of  the  same 
gravity. 

SIXTH  ARTICLE.  He  ascended  into 
heaven,  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  the 
Father  Almighty.  It  is  sufficient  for  the 
uneducated  to  believe  that  Christ  reigns  in 
heaven  with  a  glory  proper  to  Him  as  the 
God-Man. 

SEVENTH   ARTICLE.     From   thence   he 

shall  come  to  judge  the  living  and  the  dead. 
There  is  a  grave  obligation  to  know  that 
Christ  will  hold  the  general  judgment. 
What  is  understood  by  "the  living  and  the 
dead"  is  harder  to  define  explicitly. 

EIGHTH  ARTICLE.  /  believe  in  the  Holy 
Ghost.  This  dogma  is  covered  by  the  First 
Article. 

NINTH  ARTICLE.  The  Holy  Catholic 
Church.  We  are  strictly  bound  to  know  the 
necessity  of  remaining  in  the  Catholic 
Church. 

13 


The  Ten  Commandments. 


The  Communion  of  Saints.  We  should 
know  in  a  general  way  that  the  faithful 
form  one  body.  There  is  a  venial  obliga- 
tion to  know  that  we  can  be  helped  by  the 
saints  in  heaven,  and  that  we  can  help  the 
souls  in  Purgatory. 

TENTH  ARTICLE.  The  forgiveness  of 
sins.  There  is  a  grave  obligation  to  know 
how  we  can  obtain  forgiveness  of  sins  in  the 
Church  through  Baptism  or  Penance  re- 
ceived either  actually  or  by  desire. 

ELEVENTH  ARTICLE.  The  resurrection 
of  the  body.  We  must  explicitly  believe 
sub  gravi  that  the  dead  rise  again. 

TWELFTH  ARTICLE.  And  the  life  ever- 
lasting. We  must  believe  explicitly,  under 
penalty  of  mortal  sin,  that  there  is  an  ever- 
lasting reward  for  the  good  in  supernatural 
blessedness,  and  that  there  is  an  endless 
punishment  for  the  wicked. 

In  the  same  manner  we  should  know 
THE  TEN  COMMANDMENTS  and  believe 
in  them,  so  that,  if  asked,  we  should  be 
able  to  tell  what  things  are  commanded 
and  forbidden  by  them.  This  does  not  hold 
14 


The  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Sacraments. 

as  to  the  more  remote  conclusions  to  be 
drawn  from  the  Decalogue,  but  only  of 
those  precepts  that  are  formally  mentioned 
therein  or  may  be  easily  deduced  therefrom. 
We  are  also  bound  to  know  the  common 
PRECEPTS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

As  to  the  LORD'S  PRAYER,  writers  com- 
monly acknowledge  that  there  is  some 
kind  of  an  obligation  to  know  it  by  heart. 
The  faithful  also  should  be  able  to  elicit 
acts  of  faith,  hope,  charity  and  contrition, 
though  there  is  no  strict  obligation  to  have  a 
set  form  of  words  .It  is  also  becoming  to 
add  the  Hail  Mary  to  the  Our  Father, 
though  it  is  not  certain  that  it  is  a  venial  sin 
not  to  have  it  committed  to  memory,  unless 
indeed  such  want  of  knowledge  arises  from 
criminal  carelessness. 

With  regard  to  THE  SACRAMENTS:  we 
should  know  the  Sacrament  of  Penance, 
both  as  a  matter  of  precept  and  as  a  means 
for  restoring  grace. 

We  should  know  about  the  real  presence 
of  our  Lord  in  the  Eucharist,  and  that  it  is 
also  a  sacrifice  by  assisting  at  which  we  ful- 
fill the  divine  and  ecclesiastical  law. 
15 


The  Old  Classic  Catechisms. 


This  is,  as  I  have  said  before,  the  very 
skeleton  and  anatomy  of  Christian  Doc- 
trine, and  if  we  wish  to  find  what  Church 
authority  requires  of  the  average  child  we 
must  go  to  the  Catechisms. 

The  old  classic  Catechisms  written  in  the 
English  language  fall  into  two  families. 
One  family  opens  with  the  question,  "Who 
made  you?"  the  other  opens  with  the  ques- 
tion, "Who  made  the  world?"  The  chief 
representatives  of  the  first  family  are  the 
Catechism,  said  to  have  been  prepared  by 
order  of  the  First  Plenary  Council  of  Bal- 
timore, and  the  Catechism  in  use  in  Great 
Britain.  The  chief  representatives  of  the 
second  class  are  Butler's  Catechism,  the 
Maynooth  Catechism  and  the  so-called  Bal- 
timore Catechism.  The  Catechisms  of  the 
first  type  contain  about  370  questions,  while 
the  Catechisms  of  the  second  type  contain 
over  420.  Many  of  these  questions,  how- 
ever are  merely  rhetorical,  introducing  or 
closing  a  subject,  while  others  are  just  liga- 
ture or  liaison  questions  used  in  passing 
from  one  subject  to  another. 

The  chief  characteristic  of  the  first  type  is 
16 


Fall  Into  Two  Categories. 


that  the  doctrine  is  pinned  on,  so  to  speak, 
to  the  formulae.  We  have  first  Faith 
treated  under  the  twelve  articles  of  the 
Apostles'  Creed.  Then  we  have  Hope 
heading  an  explanation  of  the  Our  Father 
and  Hail  Mary.  The  third  part  is  sched- 
uled under  Charity,  and  deals  with  the 
Commandments  and  Precepts.  Then  fol- 
lows the  doctrine  on  the  Sacraments,  and 
the  Catechism  closes  with  a  summary  of  the 
Virtues  and  Vices,  the  Christian's  Daily 
Exercise  and  a  Rule  of  Life. 

In  the  second  class  of  Catechisms  the 
teaching  follows  much  the  same  line,  but 
it  is  divorced  from  the  Articles  of  the 
Apostles'  Creed.  This  divorce  is  most  evi- 
dent in  the  Baltimore  Catechism,  which 
also  inserts  the  doctrine  on  the  Sacraments 
before  the  Ten  Commandments  and  entirely 
eliminates  the  exposition  of  the  Our  Father. 

To  sum  up,  therefore,  the  answer  to  our 
first  question,  What  must  we  teach  the  chil- 
dren? we  may  use  the  words  of  the  Encyli- 
cal  of  Pius  X  on  the  teaching  of  Christian 
Doctrine :  "As  the  things  divinely  revealed 
are  so  many  and  so  various  that  it  is  no  easy 
17 


The  Summary  of  Pope  Pius  X. 

task  either  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  them, 
or  to  retain  them  in  memory,  our  prede- 
cessors have  very  wisely  reduced  the  pith 
and  marrow  of  this  saving  doctrine  to 
four  distinct  heads:  The  Apostles'  Creed, 
the  Sacraments,  the  Ten  Commandments 
and  the  Lord's  Prayer.  In  the  doctrine  of 
the  Creed  are  contained  all  things  which 
are  to  be  held  according  to  the  discipline  of 
the  Christian  Faith,  whether  they  regard 
the  knowledge  of  God,  or  the  creation  and 
government  of  the  world,  or  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  human  race,  or  the  rewards  of 
the  good  and  the  punishments  of  the  wicked. 
The  doctrine  of  the  Seven  Sacraments  com- 
prehends the  signs,  and,  as  it  were,  the  in- 
struments for  obtaining  divine  grace.  In 
the  Decalogue  is  laid  down  whatever  has 
reference  to  the  Law  the  end  whereof  is 
charity.  Finally,  in  the  Lord's  Prayer  is 
contained  whatever  can  be  desired,  hoped  or 
salutarily  prayed  for  by  men.  It  follows 
that  these  four  commonplaces,  as  it  were, 
of  Sacred  Scripture  being  explained,  there 
can  scarcely  be  wanting  anything  to  be 
learned  by  a  Christian  man." 
18 


How  Should  We  Teach  the  Children? 

II. 

Having  thus  gained  from  the  moral  theo- 
logians, the  Catechisms  and  the  Pope  a 
general  idea  of  the  amount  of  Christian 
Doctrine  the  average  child  is  supposed  to 
learn,  let  us  now  pass  to  the  second  question 
and  consider  how  that  knowledge  is  to  be 
imparted. 

Here  it  will  be  useful  to  call  to  our  minds 
the  reason  why  we  are  instructing  the  chil- 
dren in  Christian  Doctrine.  Certainly  all 
will  agree  that  it  is  not  merely  to  give  them 
an  acquaintance  with  a  set  of  speculative 
truths.  Our  end  is  to  fit  them  to  live  real 
Christian  lives  and  save  their  souls.  Even 
religious  knowledge  alone  will  not  save 
them,  nor  yet  faith  alone.  The  Apostle 
says:  "The  devils  believe  and  tremble." 
Religion  is  not  only  a  truth,  but  it  is  a  way 
and  a  life.  From  the  very  beginning  of 
their  school  days,  we  must  take  care  that 
the  children  are  living  their  religion. 

According  to  the  best  pedagogical  prac- 
tice, the  children  learn  by  doing.  Good  con- 
duct must  be  established,  the  Sacraments 
must  be  frequented,  Mass  must  be  attended, 
19 


Importance  of  Good  Example. 

prayers  must  be  said  regularly,  and,  accord- 
ing to  their  age,  all  those  habits  or  practices 
must  be  inculcated  that  in  after  years  will 
be  the  mainstay  of  an  upright  life.  Above 
all,  we  must  remember  that  the  fear  of  the 
Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom,  and  that, 
while  there  are  many  dangers  in  trying  to 
make  children  devout,  there  is  no  danger 
especially  amongst  us  in  trying  to  make 
them  reverent. 

In  his  letter  to  the  convention  of  this  As- 
sociation held  at  Detroit,  Pope  Piux  X  said: 
"To  one  principal  and  supreme  point  we 
would  call  your  attention  as  you  meet  in 
your  annual  convention  to  discuss  the  per- 
fecting of  Christian  training.  Each  of  you 
should  be  persuaded  that  he  renders  to  this 
enterprise  a  real  service  only  in  so  far  as  he 
imitates  Christ,  who,  when  about  to  deliver 
to  the  world  His  heavenly  doctrine,  'began 
to  do  and  to  teach.'  Hence  it  is  by  personal 
example,  no  less  than  by  other  social  agen- 
cies, that  each  one  of  you  should  further  the 
cause  of  Catholic  education.  Example,  in- 
deed, is  mighty  to  persuade,  nor  is  there  any 
better  means  of  moving  mankind  to  the 

20 


The  System  of  the  Catechesis. 

practice  of  virtue.  Quite  particularly  is 
this  true  in  the  education  of  children  who 
are  all  the  readier  to  imitate  what  they  be- 
hold in  proportion  as  their  judgment  is 
weak." 

It  is  a  pleasant  thing  to  be  able  to  boast 
that  in  the  matter  of  these  recommendations 
of  Pius  X  our  American  tradition  is  excel- 
lent. No  matter  how  we  may  have  been 
criticised  for  other  things,  every  one  admits 
the  splendid  example  of  our  religious  teach- 
ers, and  even  outsiders  recognize  in  the  very 
manners  of  our  school  children  the  refining 
influence  exercised,  especially  by  the  Sisters 
on  the  pupils  they  are  instructing  unto  jus- 
tice. 

Coming  now  to  the  task  of  informing 
the  child's  intellect  with  the  necessary 
truths,  we  find  that  in  this  matter,  as  in  so 
many  others,  the  Church  has  her  own 
method.  It  would  indeed  be  strange  if  an 
organization  sent  out  by  divine  authority  to 
make  disciples  of  all  the  nations  had  not 
developed  a  system  of  teaching  in  her  long 
history.  That  system  is  known  as  the  Cate- 
chesis. Like  so  many  other  things,  it  was 

21 


The  Catechesis  in  St.  Luke. 


taken  over  from  the  synagogue  and  brought 
to  a  high  pitch  of  efficiency  in  the  Cate- 
chumenate.  It  survived  all  the  disasters  of 
the  downfall  of  civilization,  and,  though 
since  the  invention  of  printing,  it  has  suf- 
fered a  comparative  decline,  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal authorities  have  never  ceased  urging  it 
as  the  proper  method  of  instruction  in 
Christian  Doctrine,  not  only  for  children, 
but  also  for  adults,  and  the  New  Code  of 
Canon  Law  declares  that  it  is  the  peculiar 
and  most  weighty  office  of  the  pastors  of 
souls  to  provide  for  the  catechetical  instruc- 
tion of  the  Christian  people  (No.  1329). 

The  word  Catechesis  comes  from  the 
Greek,  and  meant  originally  to  teach  orally 
or  by  word  of  mouth.  Essentially  it  con- 
sists of  three  elements — oral  instruction, 
questions  put  by  the  teacher,  questions  put 
by  the  pupil.  There  is  a  perfect  example 
of  Catechesis  in  the  finding  of  our  Lord  in 
the  temple.  St.  Luke  tells  us  that  He  was 
sitting  in  the  midst  of  the  teachers  hearing 
them  and  asking  them  questions,  and  that 
all  were  astonished  at  His  wisdom  and  His 
answers.  Here  you  have  the  three  elements 

22 


How  It  Differs  from  the  Socratic  Method. 

— first,  the  exposition  by  the  teachers;  sec- 
ond, the  answer  by  the  pupil,  and,  third,  the 
pupil's  questions  put  to  the  teachers. 

I  should  like  here  to  guard  you  against 
confounding  the  Catechesis  with  what  is 
known  as  the  Socratic  method.  In  the  Cate- 
chesis the  emphasis  is  laid  on  the  instruc- 
tion; in  the  Socratic  method  the  emphasis 
is  laid  on  the  question.  The  object  of  Socra- 
tes was  so  to  order  his  interrogations  that 
facts  and  principles  already  in  the  mind  of 
his  disciple  should  lead  of  themselves  to  the 
conclusion  he  wished  to  draw  forth.  But 
in  revealed  religion  all  the  Socratic  ques- 
tions in  the  world  could  not  extract  from 
the  human  intellect  the  doctrine  of  the  Trin- 
ity, for  instance,  or  the  fact  of  the  Incarna- 
tion. Such  truths  must  be  taught  to  the 
hearer  and  taught  with  authority.  There 
are,  it  is  true,  doctrines  written  on  the 
fleshly  tablets  of  our  hearts  that  may  in  a 
way  be  reached  by  the  Socratic  method,  but 
even  in  the  case  of  such  doctrines  we  need 
the  authority  of  revelation  to  establish  them 
so  that  they  may  be  known  adequately,  de- 
cisively and  without  the  aberrations  that 
23 


Catechesis  the  Method  of  Authority. 

seem  to  pursue  the  unaided  attempts  of 
human  reason  at  setting  up  a  satisfactory 
moral  code. 

The  method  of  the  Catechesis,  then,  is 
the  method  of  authority.  This  is  especially 
true  in  the  case  of  the  young  children  with 
whom  we  are  dealing.  They  have  in  them 
a  natural  disposition  to  believe.  They  will 
take  your  word  without  thought  of  ques- 
tioning it.  There  is  no  need  of  seeking  rea- 
sons from  biology  or  analogies  from  zoology 
to  prove  to  them  that  God  is  good  or  that 
Providence  takes  care  of  them.  It  is  simply 
a  waste  of  time  to  torture  them  with  Socratic 
questions  to  demonstrate  that  they  should 
not  lie  when  the  mere  proposition  of  the 
commandment  is  sufficient  to  make  them 
accept  the  obligation.  These  truths,  of 
course,  require  amplification  and  illustra- 
tion, but  they  do  not  need  argument.  In 
fact,  children  in  these  grades  are  incapable 
of  ratiocination  in  such  subjects.  The  time 
will  come  when  their  reason  will  function, 
and  function  acutely,  and  then  the  method 
of  the  Catechesis  must  change,  but  at  this 
stage  of  our  children's  education,  our  model 
24 


The  Memory  and  the  Imagination. 

is  our  Lord,  who  spake  not  as  scribe  and 
Pharisee,  but  as  one  having  authority. 

What,  after  all,  are  the  chief  mental  assets 
the  little  ones  have  in  coming  to  us  at  this 
period  of  their  lives.  They  are,  as  you 
know,  the  memory  and  the  imagination. 
Therefore,  our  main  object  must  be  to  use 
the  memory  and  to  inform  the  imagination. 
Part  passu  with  this  will  go  a  development 
of  the  intellect  and  of  the  will,  but  the  im- 
mediate means  at  our  hand  are  the  power 
of  recollection  and  the  power  of  exercising 
the  fancy. 

Now,  the  ideal  of  the  Catechesis  at  this 
time  is  to  bring  the  faculties  of  the  child 
and  the  faculties  of  the  teacher  into  perfect 
tune.  Therefore,  the  teacher  must  learn  to 
become  again  a  little  child  to  attain  the  end 
of  bringing  the  children  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  This  is  by  no  means  an  easy 
thing  to  do,  nor  is  it  to  be  attained  in  a  day 
or  a  year.  It  demands  serious  discipline  in 
the  novitiate,  and  it  demands  serious  prepa- 
ration for  every  class.  The  year's  work 
must  be  carefully  organized,  the  day's  work 
must  be  carefully  put  together.  There  are 
25 


The  Chief  Aids  to  Teaching. 


various  systems  or  methods  of  Catechesis 
which  you  will  find  described  in  books.  I 
am  not  an  advocate  of  strict  or  hidebound 
systems  or  methods,  and  I  believe  every 
good  teacher  will  put  her  own  personality 
into  whatever  system  is  adopted.  More- 
over, I  believe  very  strongly  that  the  various 
teaching  orders  should  be  loyal  to  the  tradi- 
tions of  their  communities,  for  it  will  be 
usually  found  that  those  who  shaped  those 
communities  had  a  special  genius  for  teach- 
ing and  handed  on  to  their  children  precepts 
and  practices  of  real  pedagogical  value. 

III. 

Let  us  now  come  to  the  third  question  and 
speak  of  the  chief  aids  or  instruments  at  our 
disposal  in  the  teaching  of  religion.  These 
aids  or  instruments  are  many,  but  in  prac- 
tice the  most  important  is  the  Catechism. 

i.  (a)  The  Catechism  is  a  book  contain- 
ing a  certain  number  of  stereotyped  ques- 
tions and  answers.  The  pupil  is  given  so 
many  answers  to  get  off  by  heart,  and  when 
the  teacher  puts  the  question  he  gives  back 
26 


The  Catechism. 


the  answer  in  the  exact  words  of  the  book. 
This  style  of  presenting  knowledge  was 
very  popular  in  the  middle  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, and  we  had  catechisms  on  all  kinds  of 
subjects — history,  botany,  chemistry,  civics 
and  so  on.  The  fashion  has  passed  away 
almost  completely  as  far  as  secular  subjects 
are  concerned,  but  it  is  still  jealously  re- 
tained in  the  teaching  of  religion. 

Of  the  former  class  of  Catechisms,  J.  G. 
Fitch  writes  very  severely: 

"To  print  a  book  of  questions  and  answers 
is  to  assume  that  there  is  to  be  no  real  con- 
tact of  thought  between  scholar  and  master, 
that  all  the  questions  which  are  to  be  asked 
are  to  take  one  particular  form,  and  they 
all  admit  of  but  one  answer.  There  is  no 
room  for  inquisitiveness  on  the  part  of  the 
learner,  nor  for  digression  on  the  part  of 
the  teacher,  no  room  for  the  play  of  the  in- 
telligence of  either  around  the  subject  in 
hand;  the  whole  exercise  has  been  devised 
to  convert  a  study  which  ought  to  awaken 
intelligence,  into  a  miserable  mechanical 
performance;  and  two  people  who  ought  to 
be  in  intimate  intellectual  relations  with 
27 


The   Catechism  a  Necessity. 


each  other,  into  a  brace  of  impostors — the 
one   teaching  nothing,   the  other   learning 
nothing,  but  both  acting  a  part  and  reciting 
somebody  else's  words  out  of  a  book."- 
Lectures  on  Teaching,  p.  141. 

It  is  true  there  may  be  schools  where  these 
words  describe  what  happens  in  religious 
instruction.  Even  so,  that  would  not  be 
sufficient  reason  to  advocate  the  abolition  of 
the  religious  Catechism.  Wherever  you 
find  in  a  great  organization  like  the  Church 
a  practice  common  to  various  countries  and 
ages  you  usually  discover  that  it  represents 
the  practical  meeting  of  some  real  need  or 
the  solution  of  some  problem.  In  the  old 
times  there  were  no  Catechisms  such  as  we 
have  now,  but  from  the  very  beginning  we 
find  formulae  and  stereotyped  questions  and 
answers.  Our  Lord  Himself  gave  us  a  form 
of  prayer.  In  spite  of  the  learned  men  I 
am  convinced  that  the  Apostles  made  the 
Apostles'  Creed.  The  question  and  answer 
are  imbedded  in  the  ritual  of  Baptism  and 
considering  the  origin  of  the  Christian 
Church  it  would  be  strange  if  it  were  not 
so,  seeing  how  it  is  imbedded  in  that  most 
28 


The  Form  of  Sound  Words. 


ancient  ceremony,  the  Passover  supper  of 
the  Jews. 

Then  from  the  very  beginning  there  was 
tampering  with  the  Christian  doctrine.  To 
meet  this  tampering  the  Church  was  most 
particular  as  to  the  terms  in  which  she 
clothed  her  "sound  doctrine."  St.  Paul 
admonishes  Timothy  to  avoid  profane  nov- 
elties of  words  and  to  "hold  the  form  of 
sound  words  which  thou  hast  heard  of 
me."  As  the  great  heresies  swept  through 
Christendom  the  Councils  of  the  Church 
defined  with  more  and  more  exactness  what 
Christians  should  believe.  Highly  techni- 
cal expressions  came  into  use  and  at  one 
time  the  whole  world  was  split  in  two  over 
the  smallest  letter  in  the  Greek  alphabet. 

It  was  to  furnish  the  faithful  with  the 
form  of  sound  words  that  after  the  inven- 
tion of  printing,  and  especially  after  the 
rise  of  Protestantism,  Catechisms  were  is- 
sued by  competent  authority.  Those  cate- 
chisms not  only  contained  the  doctrines  that 
had  been  defined,  but  also  furnished  on  their 
own  responsibility  accurate  explanations  of 
other  teachings  which  form,  as  is  were,  the 
29 


The  Catechism  Only  a  Guide. 

pomoerium  fidei,  an  outer  defense  for 
dogma. 

The  Catholic  respect,  therefore,  for  the 
form  of  sound  words  and  the  Catholic  dis- 
trust for  heretical  inaccuracy,  not  mental 
sluggishness  nor  fear  of  progress,  is  the  rea- 
son why  we  have  retained  the  Catechism  in 
religious  instruction  when  it  has  been  aban- 
doned in  secular  subjects.  We  must  also 
remember  that  the  duty  of  teaching  Cate- 
chism devolves  on  others  besides  priests  and 
teachers.  Parents  and  guardians,  and  all  in 
charge  of  children,  are  bound  to  teach  it 
either  personally  or  by  others,  and  an 
authoritative  elementary  manual  contain- 
ing the  things  to  be  taught  and  cast  in  the 
form  of  question  and  answer  will  always 
be  of  use  and  necessity. 

But  at  the  same  time  we  must  remember 
that  in  the  Catechesis  the  Catechism  is  only 
a  tool  and  a  guide,  and  that  the  real  work 
is  done  by  the  oral  instruction.  The  ideal 
of  the  Catechesis  is  that  the  minds  of  the 
teacher  and  of  the  pupil  must  be  in  perfect 
tune.  The  teacher  not  only  propounds  the 
doctrine,  but  illustrates  it,  analyses  it,  puts 
30 


V/hat  Catechism  to  Be  Used. 


it  one  way  now,  another  way  again,  and 
uses  in  fact  every  device  of  the  teaching  art, 
even  as  our  Lord  Himself  instructed  His 
disciples.  Then  by  means  of  frequent  ques- 
tions the  catechist  holds  their  attention, 
clears  their  misapprehensions,  systematizes 
their  thoughts,  insists  on  the  form  of  sound 
words,  and,  finally,  as  all  teaching  consists 
in  getting  the  pupil's  mind  to  work  for  itself, 
encouraging  the  use  of  questions  from  the 
pupil's  side  to  meet  his  difficulties  and 
round  out  his  knowledge. 

(b)  The  question  now  arises,  What  Cate- 
chism should  we  use?  In  this  matter  we 
have  no  choice.  The  Bishop  is  the  teach- 
ing authority  in  his  diocese,  and  it  is  his 
privilege  to  prescribe  the  Catechism  or 
other  books  to  be  used  by  his  flock.  Canon 
1336  of  the  new  code  says:  "Ordinarii  loci 
est  omnia  in  sua  diocesi  edicere  quae  ad 
populum  in  Christina  doctrina  instituen- 
dum  spectent;  et  etiam  religiosi  exempli 
quoties  non  exemptos  docent  eadem  servare 
tenentur."  It  belongs  to  the  local  Ordinary 
to  regulate  for  his  diocese  all  things  that 
concern  the  instruction  of  the  people  in 
31 


Text  Books  and  Teachers. 


Christian  doctrine;  and  even  exempt  reli- 
gious are  bound  to  observe  those  regula- 
tions when  they  are  teaching  persons  not 
exempt. 

In  reply  to  those  teachers  who  may  chafe 
at  this  restriction  of  their  liberty  to  use  a 
text  book  that  they  are  more  familiar  with 
or  that  they  may  consider  more  effective 
than  the  local  Catechism  I  might  say  that 
here  in  America  we  are  inclined  to  lay  too 
much  stress  on  the  text  book.  This  is  pre- 
eminently the  land  of  text  books.  We  have 
employed  our  best  talent  in  compiling  them 
and  have  spent  millions  of  money  in  produc- 
ing them.  Great  corporations  strive  for  the 
patronage  of  the  schools,  public  and  private, 
and  the  battle  of  the  book  agents  rages  all 
over  the  country,  so  that  in  some  States  the 
government  has  been  compelled  to  step  in 
and  manufacture  a  series  of  its  own. 

Yet,  of  the  three  things  in  a  school — the 
teacher,  the  child  and  the  text  book — the 
least  important  is  the  text  book.  I  will  not 
elaborate  this  idea  here,  but  will  refer  you 
to  the  Report  of  Superintendent  of  Schools 
of  the  Archdiocese  of  San  Francisco  for 
32 


Difficulty  of  Making  Catechisms. 

1916-1917,  page  33,  where  the  Rev.  Ralph 
Hunt  ably  discusses  the  qualifications  of  the 
teacher.  You  will  see  from  the  nature  of 
the  Catechesis  itself  that  this  is  especially 
true  of  religious  instruction.  Yet  there  has 
been  no  text  book  which  has  been  so  sav- 
agely criticised  as  the  Catechism.  Bishop 
Bellord  went  so  far  as  to  speak  of  our  fail- 
ure in  religious  instruction,  and  ascribed  it 
to  the  imperfect  manner  in  which  our  Cate- 
chisms in  common  use  are  constructed.  He 
might  have  got  away  with  it,  as  they  say,  if 
Satan  had  not  tempted  him  to  write  a  Cate- 
chism of  his  own,  and  Job's  wish  was  grati- 
fied, "Oh,  that  mine  enemy  would  write  a 
book."  In  my  humble  opinion  Bellord's 
Catechism  is  about  as  bad  as  a  Catechism 
could  be. 

The  drawback  they  must  meet  who  try  to 
write  a  Catechism  is  that  they  have  to  satisfy 
two  classes  of  critics,  the  theologians  on  the 
one  side  and  the  teachers  on  the  other.  The 
theologians  demand  scientific  accuracy  and 
completeness,  while  the  teachers  are  looking 
for  brevity  and  simplicity.  But  we  must 
remember  that  we  are  teaching  religion,  not 
33 


The  Ideal  Catechism. 


theology,  and  that  we  are  dealing  with  chil- 
dren, not  with  professional  students  of  uni- 
versity grade.  On  the  other  hand,  we  must 
guard  the  form  of  sound  words  and  realize 
the  depth  of  the  riches  of  the  wisdom  and 
of  the  knowledge  of  God.  My  idea  of  a 
good  Catechism  is  one  that  contains  the  tra- 
ditional amount  of  information,  in  which 
the  definitions  are  accurately  expressed  as 
far  as  they  go,  and  in  which  the  language  is 
not  only  correct  but  rhythmic  and  elevated. 
However,  we  have  to  face  facts,  and  even  if 
the  Catechism  is  not  the  best  attainable,  as 
long  as  it  is  prescribed  by  authority  the 
teacher  must  use  it.  This  compulsion,  too, 
need  not  interfere  with  the  efficiency  of  the 
instruction.  It  has  been  well  said  that  a 
poor  text  book  becomes  a  challenge  to  a 
good  teacher  to  make  up  for  its  deficiencies 
by  personal  work.  An  unsatisfactory  Cate- 
chism may  stimulate  the  conscientious  in- 
structor to  that  oral  teaching  which  is  the 
very  soul  of  the  Catechesis. 

(c)   There  is  another  question  connected 
with  the  Catechism  which  you  may  well  ask 
me — Should   we    require    the   children    to 
34 


Memorizing  Answers  and  Formulae. 

memorize  the  answers  word  for  word? 
Here,  as  you  know,  there  is  a  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  the  theory  and  a  difference  in 
practice.  It  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  the 
reasons  for  and  against,  because,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  the  wise  superior  will  find  out  what 
the  pastor  wants  and  will  govern  her  con- 
duct accordingly.  This  much,  however,  I 
would  advise  that  where  there  are  several 
priests  teaching  or  examining  the  children 
they  should  be  asked  to  have  one  system. 
If  the  word  for  word  test  is  required  all 
should  require  it;  if  it  is  not  required,  then 
no  individual  should  insist  on  it. 

In  this  connection  I  would  impress  upon 
you  the  necessity  of  accuracy  in  memoriz- 
ing the  prayers,  the  various  formulae  and 
the  dogmatic  definitions.  It  would  be 
ludicrous  if  it  were  not  so  sad  to  listen  to 
the  perversions  the  most  sacred  words  suffer 
in  the  mouths  of  children  who  are  badly 
taught.  They  are  reciting  those  forms  every 
day,  apparently  the  teacher  is  listening  to 
them,  and  yet  to  judge  by  what  they  do  ar- 
ticulate they  have  as  much  meaning  to  them 
as  "eena,  meena,  mina,  mo." 
35 


The  Need  of  Accuracy. 


There  are  two  remedies  for  this  state  of 
affairs.  First,  to  teach  the  form  correctly 
in  the  beginning  and  of  this  I  will  speak 
later  on  when  I  come  to  the  question  of  read- 
ing. Second,  frequently  to  test  the  accuracy 
of  the  children's  memory  by  means  of  writ- 
ing. I  would  recommend  this  exercise  to 
you:  The  first  days  of  school  the  teacher 
usually  has  to  find  some  "busy  work"  for 
the  pupils  while  she  reorganizes  her  class. 
Without  any  warning  to  the  children,  give 
them  the  task  of  writing  out  from  memory 
the  common  prayers  like  the  Our  Father. 
Then  take  the  results  into  some  quiet  place 
alone  and  read  them.  If  you  have  a  due 
sense  of  the  dignity  of  religion  you  will 
most  likely  go  down  on  your  knees,  strike 
your  breast  and  cry  mea  culpa,  mea  maxima 
culpa. 

At  the  end  of  the  year,  again  without 
warning,  give  the  same  task  to  the  children, 
compare  the  two  sets  of  papers,  and  you  will 
have  before  you  the  most  searching  criti- 
cism possible  of  your  work  during  the  past 
year. 

2.  Practical  teachers  will  admit  that  one 
36 


Grading  Religious  Teaching. 


of  the  most  efficacious  aids  in  imparting  in- 
struction is  the  careful  grading  of  the  sub- 
ject matter.  This  is  as  true  of  religion  as 
it  is  of  other  branches  of  knowledge.  St. 
Paul  himself  speaks  of  milk  for  babes  and 
strong  meat  for  men.  The  old  North 
Italian  Catechism,  a  revision  of  which  was 
adopted  by  Pius  X  as  the  official  Catechism 
of  the  Province  of.  Rome,  consists  of  three 
stages  or  grades.  The  first  contains  "ele- 
mentary truths  for  children  of  a  tender 
age,"  the  second  is  the  Catechism  for  pupils 
preparing  for  the  Sacraments  and  the  third 
is  destined  for  the  so-called  continuation 
classes,  corresponding  in  amount  of  matter 
to  the  large  Deharbe.  In  ungraded  Cate- 
chisms like  Butler's  and  the  Baltimore,  a 
common  practice  in  some  school  programs 
is  to  apportion  for  the  first  grade  a  certain 
number  of  chapters  beginning  with  Chapter 
I  and  continuing  through  the  various  grades 
to  the  end  of  the  book.  Thus,  for  instance, 
in  Grade  I  the  children  are  taught  Chap- 
ters I  to  IV;  in  Grade  II,  Chapters  V  to 
XII,  and  so  on.  This  is  the  method  in  al- 
most universal  use  in  Sunday  Schools.  The 
37 


Arguments  in  Favor  of  Grading. 

children  begin  the  Catechism  five  or  six 
times  and  tunnel  their  way  to  light  and  free- 
dom only  just  before  they  receive  the  Sacra- 
ments. 

Now,  as  against  this  practice  there  are 
two  arguments  that  are  conclusive.  First, 
there  are  truths  at  the  end  of  the  Catechism 
that  children  even  in  the  First  Grade  should 
know.  Take  the  question  of  good  conduct 
alone,  without  which  all  our  teaching  is 
dead  and  profitless.  In  our  Baltimore 
Catechism  the  Commandments  of  God  and 
the  Church  form  the  last  part  of  the  book; 
and  while,  no  doubt,  the  child  learns  the 
substance  of  them  indirectly  in  the  very 
first  years  of  his  schooling,  yet  their  formal 
inculcation  is  postponed  to  what  for  so  many 
children  is  the  end  of  their  religious  edu- 
cation; second,  the  late  legislation  on  the 
communion  of  children  has  worked  a  revo- 
lution in  the  matter  to  be  presented  even  to 
the  youngest  child.  From  the  very  begin- 
ning the  Eucharist  and  penance  enter  into 
their  program.  It  is  true  the  requirements 
for  the  early  grades  are  few  and  simple,  but 
the  subjects  are  there  and  must  be  treated. 
38 


A  Five  Years'  Program. 


When  we  add  to  these  thoughts  the  fur- 
ther consideration  that  there  are  answers  in 
the  early  chapters  of  the  Catechism  that 
are,  I  will  not  say  beyond  the  comprehen- 
sion of  Second  Grade  pupils,  but  beyond 
even  their  powers  of  articulation,  we  will 
readily  see  how  helpful  it  would  be  to  pick 
out  the  questions  concerning  the  necessary 
truths  first  and  then  add  to  them  year  by 
year  until  the  whole  Catechism  is  mastered. 
Inasmuch  as  in  most  States  we  have  com- 
pulsory education,  at  least  as  far  as  the  nor- 
mal Sixth  Grade,  there  is  no  reason  why  we 
should  not  provide  a  graded  five-year  course 
in  Christian  Doctrine,  as  is  done  in  the  well- 
known  Salford  Catechisms.  The  whole 
Baltimore  Catechism  could  be  covered  in 
these  five  years  by  assigning  two  new  ques- 
tions a  week,  thus  giving  plenty  of  oppor- 
tunity for  an  extended  Catechesis  even  in 
crowded  class  rooms,  and  above  all  provid- 
ing for  that  steady  repetition  of  old  and 
fundamental  matter  which  is  the  very  es- 
sence of  successful  teaching  in  this,  as  in 
all  other  subjects. 

3.  From  the  very  beginning  of  her  his- 
39 


Art  in  Christian  Teaching. 


tory  the  Church  has  used  the  art  of  painting 
in  teaching  religion.  The  art  of  sculpture 
came  later,  but  both  were  employed  for  the 
same  purpose — to  convey  to  the  believer  the 
great  truths  of  the  faith.  Hence  we  would 
naturally  expect  to  find  the  picture  or  the 
image  rated  high  as  an  aid  to  teaching.  Up 
to  not  so  many  years  ago  good  pictures  were 
scarce,  dear  and  hard  to  obtain,  but  now-a- 
days,  in  consequence  of  the  progress  made 
in  the  various  reproduction  processes,  a 
teacher  has  at  hand  a  veritable  store  of  beau- 
tiful copies  of  the  masterpieces  of  art,  both 
plain  and  in  colors  and  at  a  moderate  cost. 

Here  let  me  digress  for  a  moment  and 
insist  on  the  great  advantage  it  will  be  to  a 
teacher  to  begin  from  the  very  first  years 
of  her  career  to  collect  her  own  teaching 
apparatus  and  to  keep  a  note  book. 

By  her  teaching  apparatus  I  do  not  mean 
the  furniture  proper  to  every  school  room, 
but  a  more  personal  and  intimate  collec- 
tion of  objects  which  she  has  found  useful 
and  stimulating  in  working  out  the  method 
of  teaching  she  has  colored  with  her  own 
qualities.  Pictures,  old  Christmas  cards, 
40 


Teacher's  Personal  Equipment. 

advertising  specimens,  clippings  from  cata- 
logues, magazines  and  newspapers,  dolls 
dressed  to  show  the  vestments,  postals,  cray- 
ons and  a  score  of  other  things,  if  kept  to- 
gether in  a  special  box  will  be  found  most 
useful  to  illustrate  the  instruction,  to  serve 
as  stimuli  for  expression  work,  to  stir  up 
interest  in  the  class  and  to  be  given  as  prizes 
to  provoke  emulation. 

The  teacher  will  find  her  note  book  a  most 
precious  record  of  her  mental  develop- 
ment and  a  most  helpful  adjunct  in  prepar- 
ing for  her  daily  task.  I  know,  of  course, 
there  are  those  who  will  smile  at  the  idea 
of  preparation  in  connection  with  the  Cate- 
chism lesson,  but  they  are  not  of  the  seed 
through  which  salvation  is  wrought  in 
Israel.  There  is  no  lesson  that  requires 
such  careful,  nay  meticulous,  preparation 
as  the  daily  instruction  in  religion.  For 
myself,  being  unprepared,  I  should  sooner 
undertake  to  address  a  class  of  theologians 
on  the  Syncatabasis  than  take  half  an  hour's 
catechism  in  the  baby  grade.  Now,  we 
know  by  experience  that  we  do  not  always 
come  to  the  preparation  of  our  lessons  with 
41 


Preparing  the  Picture  Lesson. 

the  same  minds.  At  times  we  are  bright 
and  alert,  the  ideas  sparkle  spontaneously, 
the  words  flow,  the  subject  stands  out  in 
sharp  detail ;  at  other  times  we  are  dull  and 
stupid  and  tired,  our  thoughts  are  wander- 
ing and  our  studies  are  a  weariness  to  body 
and  soul.  If  in  the  latter  case,  however, 
you  have  in  your  note  book  a  record  of  the 
preparation  of  the  lesson  the  year  before 
when  you  were  fine  and  fit,  especially  if 
you  make  it  a  practice  after  school  to  set 
down  the  thoughts  and  illustrations  that 
come  to  you  out  of  the  white  heat  of  teach- 
ing, you  will  have  the  very  best  aid  possible 
to  overcome  the  deadness  that  besets  you  and 
the  most  stimulating  of  all  motives  to  equal 
your  past  performance. 

Let  us  return  to  the  picture  lesson.  It  is 
in  the  preparation  of  the  picture  lesson  that 
one  sees  most  clearly  the  advantages  of  the 
note  book.  Here  again  the  wise  men  may 
elevate  their  eyebrows  and  sneer  at  the  fool- 
ishness of  preparing  a  picture  lesson.  Is  it 
not  the  business  of  a  picture  to  speak  for 
itself?  No  attitude  could  be  more  super- 
ficial. We  see  in  a  picture  only  what  we 
42 


Our  Lord  and  the  Children. 


bring  to  it,  and  it  is  the  task  of  the  teachers 
so  to  furnish  the  minds  of  the  children  that 
they  may  recognize  according  to  their 
capacity  the  vision  the  artist  saw  and 
bodied  forth  by  cunning  brush  from  glow- 
ing palette  for  the  delight  and  instruction 
of  men. 

For  example,  let  us  take  the  subject  so 
favored  by  painters  and  so  loved  by  little 
ones — Christ  and  the  children.  The  teacher 
in  preparing  this  lesson  will  naturally  have 
two  ends  in  view — to  see  the  scene  as  it 
actually  happened  and  to  make  the  children 
see  it  for  themselves.  First,  then,  the 
teacher  turns  to  the  Gospels  and  finds  in  St. 
Matthew  his  account  of  the  incident.  At 
the  foot  of  the  page  she  will  notice  that  the 
same  incident  is  recorded  in  St.  Mark  and 
St.  Luke.  Let  her  now  make  three  parallel 
columns  in  her  note  book  and  write  in  them 
the  three  accounts  under  their  respective 
authors'  names.  A  study  of  what  she  has 
written  will  show  her  that  while  the  back- 
bone of  the  story  is  identical  in  the  three 
accounts,  each  of  the  evangelists  gives  some 
trait  or  circumstance  that  the  others  omit. 
43 


The  Matter  of  the  Morning  Meditation. 

Now  let  the  teacher  go  to  the  Commun- 
ity library  and  take  down  that  most  excel- 
lent Life  of  Christ  by  Father  Maas,  S.  J. 
It  is  what  they  call  a  Diatessaron,  that  is 
to  say,  the  four  Gospels  are  woven  into  one 
continuous  narrative.  Moreover,  it  is  fur- 
nished with  a  sufficiency  of  reliable  and 
learned  notes.  Let  the  teacher  copy  into 
her  note  book  at  the  foot  of  the  parallel 
columns  the  account  of  the  incident  as  he 
blends  it  from  the  synoptics.  Let  her  also 
study  his  notes  carefully  and  enter  a  few 
key  words  to  remind  her  of  the  time,  the 
place,  the  occasion  of  the  incident  and  of 
the  manners  and  customs  of  the  people. 
Finally,  let  her  get  one  or  more  of  what  I 
might  call  the  literary  lives  of  Christ,  such 
as  Fouard's  or  Elliot's  and  write  into  her 
note  book  their  description  of  the  scene  in- 
corporating, as  they  do,  not  only  the  facts, 
but  also  the  geography,  the  scenery,  the  ar- 
chitecture, the  popular  ways,  the  historical 
and  personal  allusions  to  make  a  concrete 
picture.  Then  having  done  all  this,  let  the 
teacher  make  it  the  matter  of  her  morning 
44 


The  Compositio  Loci. 


meditation  for  the  next  week.  Little  by 
little  the  scene  will  begin  to  live  for  her. 
As  when  we  are  trying  for  the  proper  focus 
in  projecting  a  picture  the  blurred  and  in- 
distinct image  trembles  at  first  and  then 
begins  to  take  shape  and  form  and  at  last 
stands  out  in  clear  and  sharp  definition,  so 
the  confused  outlines  of  the  story  will  begin 
to  co-ordinate  themselves  and  we  shall  see 
the  Judean  village  and  the  flat-roofed 
houses  glaring  white  under  the  brilliant  sky. 
We  shall  see  the  narrow  street  and  the 
loungers  in  the  shade  stirred  from  their 
lethargy  by  the  approach  of  the  Prophet  of 
Nazareth  and  His  little  band.  We  shall  see 
how  our  Lord  retires  into  one  of  the  houses 
and  mark  the  constant  stream  of  visit- 
ors coming  and  going  and  listen  to  the 
murmur  of  the  high  arguments  that  have 
made  memorable  that  humble  abode.  At 
last,  as  the  burden  of  the  day  is  broken 
and  the  tempered  heats  render  tolerable 
the  next  stage  of  their  journey,  our  Lord 
and  His  Apostles  appear  in  the  village 
street  and  make  ready  to  depart.  The 
strain  of  the  day  is  evident  in  His  lined 
45 


The  Living  Picture. 


face  and  drooping  shoulders  and  the  jour- 
ney before  them  is  long.  The  Apostles 
gather  about  Him  in  loving  sympathy  and 
cast  in  their  minds  how  to  lighten  His  way. 
At  this  very  moment  the  Mothers  of  the 
village,  hearing  that  the  great  Rabbi  is 
about  to  leave  them,  snatch  up  their  chil- 
dren and  run  to  demand  what  is  their  right 
by  immemorial  custom,  the  blessing  of  the 
Holy  Man  for  their  little  ones.  We  can  see 
the  thunder  frown  on  the  brows  of  James 
and  John,  we  can  hear  the  flying  word  from 
the  impetuous  lips  of  Peter,  we  can  mark 
the  astonished  mothers  hurt  and  indignant 
at  this  more  than  Galilean  rudeness.  Then 
we  fix  our  gaze  upon  our  Lord.  He  turns 
his  eyes  flaming  with  anger  upon  His 
Apostles,  with  bitterness  He  rebukes  His 
own.  He  bids  them  stand  aside  and  make 
way  for  the  children.  He  seats  Himself. 
The  children  run  to  Him.  They  cluster 
round  His  knees.  They  climb  into  His  lap. 
They  hang  over  His  shoulders.  He  lays  His 
hands  upon  them  and  blesses  them  and,  like 
the  sound  of  music  dropping  from  the  stars, 
we  hear  His  words:  "Suffer  the  little  chil- 
46 


The  Value  of  Reading. 


dren  to  come  unto  Me  and  forbid  them  not, 
for  of  such  is  the  Kingdom  of  God." 

4.  Especially  in  our  day  when  everybody 
is  able  to  read,  the  art  of  reading  as  an  aid 
to  religious  instruction  has  a  very  great  ex- 
tension. It  comprehends  everything  from 
the  unchangeable  word  of  God  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures  to  the  ephemeral  product  of  the 
periodical  press.  It  would  take  a  treatise 
to  do  full  justice  to  the  subject  and  there- 
fore here  I  can  only  touch  on  a  few  points 
more  intimately  connected  with  school  dis- 
cipline. Even  in  this  restricted  sphere  I 
would  refer  you  to  my  paper,  read  at  the 
Milwaukee  meeting  of  this  Association,  on 
the  Educational  Value  of  Christian  Doc- 
trine, for  a  more  extended  explanation  of 
the  place  of  reading  in  religious  instruction. 
I  leave  aside  also  the  vexed  question  of  the 
so-called  Catholic  Readers  and  will  confine 
myself  to  a  few  practical  points  more  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  Catechism. 

(a)  As  you  will  gather  from  the  Mil- 
waukee paper,  we  all  have  two  vocabularies 
— the  vocabulary  of  daily  life  and  the 
vocabulary  of  books  or  literature.  We  may 
47 


Classifying  the  Religious  Vocabulary. 

divide  the  latter  vocabulary  into  secular 
and  religious.  The  child  in  the  first  grade 
who  knows  the  common  prayers  and  has 
been  told  the  stories  of  the  Infancy  and 
Passion  of  Our  Lord  is  using  a  vocabulary 
of  at  least  800  words,  of  which  a  large  num- 
ber are  peculiar  to  religion. 

Now,  in  acquiring  the  power  of  secular 
reading,  that  is,  of  recognizing  and  repro- 
ducing secular  words,  we  employ  certain 
systems  of  teaching.  Some  use  a  sight  sys- 
tem, some  a  phonic  system  and  some  a  com- 
bination of  the  two.  But  whatever  system 
is  used,  the  words  are  classified  on  a  plan 
and  so  organized  that  the  pupil  passes  from 
the  known  to  the  unknown,  from  the  easy  to 
the  difficult  combinations. 

Unfortunately,  however,  in  our  published 
books  we  have  no  such  classification  or  or- 
ganization of  the  religious  vocabulary. 
From  secular  readers,  of  course,  religion  is 
barred  and  I  know  no  series  of  Catholic 
readers  that  has  even  attempted  the  task.  In 
fact,  a  great  many  so-called  Catholic  read- 
ers are  merely  the  secular  readers  orna- 
mented with  a  few  "holy  pictures." 
48 


Writing  Guarantees  Accuracy. 

Hence,  if  the  teacher  wishes  to  get  as 
good  reading  results  from  the  religious 
vocabulary  as  from  the  secular  vocabulary 
it  will  be  necessary  for  her  to  make  her  own 
classification.  It  does  not  matter  on  what 
system  she  bases  it,  as  the  religious  vocabu- 
lary also  is  English  and  subject  to  the  same 
rules  as  the  secular  vocabulary. 

(b)  In  teaching  the  pupils  how  to  read 
the  Catechism  or  any  other  religious  text 
you  may  have  at  your  disposal,  always  keep 
before  your  mind   that  you   are   teaching 
reading,    not    religion.      Hence,    the    task 
should  be  undertaken  in  the  reading  period 
of  the  school  day,  not  in  the  religion  period. 
Whatever    religious   instruction   the    child 
will  absorb  in  this  exercise  will  come  to  it 
indirectly.    Above  all,  if  you  have  a  doc- 
trinal explanation  text,  beware  of  asking 
the  children  to  memorise  it.    Such  texts  are 
intended  first  and  foremost  as  reading  les- 
sons, not  as  tasks  in  Catechism. 

(c)  As  I  have  mentioned  above,  reading 
and  its  fellow  art,  writing,  are  the  great 
guarantees  of  accuracy.    There  are  certain 
persons — even  writers  of  Catechisms — who 

49 


The  Use  of  the  Blackboard. 


believe  that  Christian  Doctrine  should  be 
conveyed  in  words  of  one  syllable  and  laugh 
to  scorn  the  idea  of  proposing  to  children 
such  polysyllables  as  Infallibility  and  Inde- 
fectibility.  I  notice,  however,  that  the 
same  gentlemen  never  blink  an  eye  when 
the  same  children  are  required  to  know  in 
arithmetic  what  is  a  multiplicand  or  a  sub- 
trahend or  are  punished  if  in  geography 
they  do  not  master  such  blessed  words  as 
Mesopotamia  or  Madagascar.  After  all, 
what  is  the  child  going  to  school  for?  Is  it 
not  precisely  to  be  taught  such  things  and 
why  should  we  take  for  granted  the  neces- 
sity of  instruction  in  the  technical  terms  of 
profane  learning  and  draw  the  line  at  in- 
struction in  the  technical  terms  of  religion? 
In  teaching  Catechism  the  blackboard  is 
as  necessary  and  as  useful  as  it  is  in  teaching 
arithmetic.  The  children  should  not  be 
permitted  to  face  the  new  words  in  their 
Catechism  or  reader  until  the  teacher  has 
pronounced  them,  written  them  down  and 
explained  their  meaning.  Do  not  imagine 
that  children  find  difficulty  in  long  words 
only.  In  fact,  polysyllables  are  not  !the 
50 


Teaching  Bible  History. 


hardest  words  in  English.  I  have  usually 
found  more  trouble  in  domesticating  the 
monosyllabic  "heir"  that  I  have  in  harness- 
ing "transubstantiation." 

5.  To  treat  adequately  the  place  of  Holy 
Scripture  in  religious  instruction  even  in 
the  early  grades  would  require  another 
treatise.  Here  again,  in  order  to  keep 
within  due  limits  I  would  refer  you  to  my 
Milwaukee  paper  for  a  fuller  expression 
of  what  is  in  my  mind.  There  are  three 
practical  points,  however,  to  which  I  would 
call  your  attention. 

(a)  Bible  history  in  the  grades  with 
which  we  are  concerned  cannot,  of  course, 
be  taught  as  formal  history.  We  must  use 
it  for  two  purposes — first  to  get  the  facts — 
to  hear  the  story  of  the  dealings  of  God  with 
man.  We  begin  with  the  Infancy  of  Our 
Lord,  then  we  take  up  His  Passion,  Death, 
Resurrection  and  Ascension;  afterwards  we 
learn  the  chief  events  of  His  Public  Min- 
istry. In  like  manner  we  make  a  study  of 
the  main  topics  of  the  Old  Testament,  tell- 
ing them  as  stories  with  only  the  slightest 
reference  to  chronology. 
51 


The  Catholic  Versions. 


Our  second  purpose  is  to  use  the  Bible 
History  for  the  illustration  of  Christian 
Doctrine.  Those  of  you  who  read  the  di- 
vine office  will  remember  with  what  detail 
and  with  what  ingenuity  the  Responds  and 
the  Lessons  of  the  first  nocturn  from  the 
Old  Testament  are  made  to  typify  and  illus- 
trate the  teachings  of  the  Church  and  even 
the  events  of  Christian  history.  Again,  in 
order  to  husband  space  I  will  refer  you  to 
Canon  Glancey's  introduction  to  Knecht's 
Practical  Commentary  on  Holy  Scripture, 
a  book  that  should  be  in  every  school  library 
and  that  no  teacher  can  peruse  without 
pleasure  and  profit. 

(b)  In  telling  the  stories  of  the  Bible  to 
the  children  I  would  advise  you  to  adopt 
the  practice  of  using  the  Bible  language. 
Of  course,!  know  a  great  deal  of  fuss  is 
made  about  our  various  translations  into 
English,  but  bear  in  mind  that  there  is  no 
general  authorized  English  version  of  the 
Scriptures  for  Catholics  and  that  any  trans- 
lation that  has  the  imprimatur  of  the  Or- 
dinary may  be  lawfully  used.  Moreover, 
the  differences  in  the  literary  value  of  the 
52 


Pronunciation  of  Proper  Names. 

versions  have  been  greatly  over  empha- 
sized. There  is  a  style  common  to  them  all, 
inasmuch  as  they  all  come  from  the  one 
original  and  it  is  that  common  style  we 
wish  to  impress  upon  the  children  by  giving 
them  the  Bible  stories  as  far  as  possible  in 
the  Bible  language. 

(c)  A  third  point  I  would  recommend  to 
teachers  is  to  adopt  a  uniform  system  of 
pronouncing  the  proper  names.  In  the  Prot- 
estant version,  known  as  the  King  James, 
these  names  were  as  a  rule  crudely  trans- 
literated from  the  Hebrew,  with  the  result 
that  after  three  centuries  they  have  even  to 
those  familiar  with  the  version  a  harsh  and 
uncouth  look.  In  the  Catholic  version  they 
were  worn  down  and  polished  by  passing 
through  the  Greek  Septuagint  and  the  Latin 
Vulgate.  Thus  Hezekiah  became  Ezechias 
and  Joshua,  Jesus,  while  some  of  them  suf- 
fered an  English  adaptation  and  we  have 
Judah,  Judas  and  Jude.  Indeed,  the  King 
James  revisers  themselves  did  not  dare  to 
carry  their  system  to  its  full  conclusion  and 
were  instructed  to  leave  the  names  in  com- 
mon use  undisturbed,  so  that  we  have  Moses 
53 


The  Use  of  Hymns. 


not  Mosheh  in  the  Anglican  Authorized 
Version. 

For  this  reason  we  cannot  use  the  English 
tradition  of  pronouncing  the  Biblical 
Proper  Names  and  among  ourselves  there 
is  no  uniform  practice.  Even  in  reading  the 
Sunday  Epistle  and  Gospel  one  is  likely  to 
find  three  different  pronunciations  from  the 
same  pulpit  on  the  same  day.  This  diversity 
arises  from  sheer  carelessness  and  is  unjus- 
tifiable because  there  is  a  fairly  standardized 
pronunciation  for  the  names  in  the  Anglo- 
Catholic  versions. 

6.  Just  as  from  the  beginning  the  Church 
employed  the  art  of  painting  in  the  teach- 
ing of  religion,  so  also  she  employed  the  art 
of  poetry.  She  took  over  from  the  syna- 
gogue the  Songs  of  David  and  made  them 
the  nucleus  of  her  official  prayer  book.  As 
early  as  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  we  find 
fragments  of  hymns  inspired  by  her  own  pe- 
culiar spirit  and  the  Psalmi  idiotici,  such  as 
the  Gloria  in  Excelsis,  the  Te  Deum,  the 
Breastplate  of  St.  Patrick  and  others  showed 
how  the  songs  the  Apostles  bade  the  Chris- 
tians to  sing  in  their  hearts  found  expression 
54 


Uniformity  in  Music. 


on  fire  touched  lips.  At  the  freedom  of  the 
Church  there  came  a  great  outburst  of 
rhymed  and  stressed  melody  associated  with 
the  name  of  St.  Ambrose  and  culminating 
in  magnificent  sequences  like  the  Dies  Irae, 
the  Stabat  Mater  and  the  Lauda  Sion, 
which  are  to  the  literature  of  the  Middle 
Age  what  the  glorious  Gothic  Cathedrals 
are  to  the  architecture  of  the  same  period. 

Hymns  fall  into  two  classes,  doctrinal 
hymns  and  devotional  hymns.  Of  the  latter 
I  will  merely  say  that  their  choice  is  a  mat- 
ter of  taste  and  about  tastes  there  is  to  be  no 
disputing.  As  to  doctrinal  hymns,  they 
have  been  always  used — even  by  heretics — 
for  popular  teaching.  Arius,  anticipating 
the  Salvation  Army,  embodied  his  heresies 
in  songs  adopted  to  the  pot-house  airs  of 
Alexandria.  In  the  Middle  Age  the  whole 
Catechism  was  done  into  verse  and  you  can 
find  even  today  among  Irish  speakers  stave 
after  stave  containing  the  full  round  of 
Christian  Doctrine. 

As  to  the  singing  of  the  hymns,  an  official 
tune  book  for  the  country  is  greatly  to  be 
desired,  but  there  are  two  points  that  are 
55 


The  Use  of  the  Liturgy. 


even  now  easily  attainable.  First,  in  the 
same  school  have  a  common  exact  musical 
text  and,  second,  the  teaching  of  the  hymns 
as  music  belongs  to  the  music  period. 

7.  As  my  time  is  coming  to  a  close  I  will 
refer  you  to  my  paper  read  at  the  Buffalo 
meeting  for  the  value  of  the  Liturgy  as  an 
instrument  of  teaching.  As  far  as  regards 
religious  exercises  and  devotions,  school 
Mass  and  school  prayers,  sodalities  and  the 
frequentation  of  the  sacraments,  I  should 
prefer  to  leave  these  things  to  your  Catho- 
lic instinct  and  the  customs  of  your  various 
localities.  After  all  it  is  the  Christian  life 
that  counts.  Amid  the  hard  realities  of  the 
world  many  of  the  sweet  lessons  our  little 
pupils  are  learning  shall  dry  up  like  the 
morning  dew,  but  if  the  Mass  remains  and 
the  Sacraments  and  the  habit  of  prayer  and 
the  Commandments  and  the  Charity  that  is 
the  fulfilment  of  the  law,  then  our  teaching 
shall  not  have  been  in  vain  and  the  loyal 
children  of  Holy  Church,  their  children 
and  their  children's  children  shall  rise  up 
and  call  us  blessed. 


Appendices. 


For  the  convenience  of  teachers  the  extracts  referred  to 
in  the  body  of  the  paper  are  printed  hereinafter. 

APPENDIX  A. 

A  Manual  of  Instructions  in  Christian  Doctrine,  With  an 
Introduction  on  Religious  Instruction.  Edited  by  the  late 
Provost  Wenham.  Seventeenth  edition.  London :  St.  An- 
selm's  Society.  1903.  Pages  ix,  x,  xi. : 

Making  the  Importance  of  the  Subject  Apparent. — But 
while  complete  and  accurate  knowledge  and  skillful  meth- 
ods are  necessary  for  success  in  teaching  any  subject,  there 
are  two  points  especially  in  which  religious  instruction 
requires  treatment  in  a  manner  peculiar  to  itself.  It 
has  been  shown  how  pre-eminently  important  it  is.  But 
it  is  not  enough  that  the  teacher  should  see  this.  Those 
who  are  taught  must  be  made  to  see  it.  It  must  be  made 
to  appear  in  the  manner  of  teaching  it.  The  children  must 
see  that  it  is  treated  as  the  most  important.  With  this 
object  some  give  a  longer  time  to  religious  instruction  than 
to  other  matters.  But  this  is  dangerous,  as,  unless  the  in- 
struction is  very  skillfully  given,  the  additional  call  on  the 
children's  attention  is  apt  to  engender  tedium.  Nor  is  any 
great  impression  made  by  giving  up  to  religious  instruction 
the  first  hour  of  school,  while  there  are  not  infrequently 
great  inconveniences  in  this  arrangement.  But  the  im- 
portance of  the  subject  will  be  impressed  on  the  children's 
minds  by  their  observing  that  this  lesson  is  given  with 
greater  care  than  others,  that  more  is  made  of  proficiency 
in  this  than  in  other  things  in  distributing  praise  and 
rewards,  that  dull,  backward  children  are  paid  particular 
attention  to  in  this  subject;  and,  above  all,  that  it  is  treated 
with  reverence,  not  as  one  that  must  be  "got  up"  in  prep- 
aration for  an  examination  or  an  inspection,  but  as  one 
that  is  taught  punctually  and  carefully  at  all  times  for  its 
own  sake. 

Reverence. — Having  spoken  of  reverence,  it  may  be  well 
to  insist  a  little  longer  on  the  extreme  importance  of  this 
beyond  everything  else.  One  would  speak  with  diffidence ; 
but  it  would  seem  that  teachers  often  make  a  mistake  in 
aiming  at  devotion  in  the  children  rather  than  reverence. 
For  to  make  people  devout  is  not  in  our  power ;  and  to  aim 

57 


Appendices. 


at  it  is  dangerous,  as  leading,  in  some  cases,  to  a  sort  of 
reaction  against  religion  altogether,  and  in  others  to  a  sort 
of  excitement  which  is  taken  for  devotion,  but  which  has 
has  no  solid  foundation.  But  it  is  a  proverb  that  "with- 
out reverence  there  is  no  religion,"  and  there  are  no  dan- 
gers attending  the  inculcation  of  this.  On  the  contrary,  it 
is  the  atmosphere  which  will  still  continue  to  support  faith, 
even  when  morality  is  weakened.  It  will  influence  the  wild 
and  headstrong  when  nothing  else  can  turn  them,  and  is  a 
good  soil  for  the  development  of  devotion. 

Just  let  us  observe  how  strictly  this  lesson  of  reverence 
was  taught  to  men  in  old  times  by  God  himself :  how  Moses 
is  warned  to  treat  the  very  ground  he  stood  on  as  holy, 
because  of  God's  presence.  When  God  would  speak  to 
His  people,  they  were  to  sanctify  themselves  for  three  days, 
and  Mount  Sinai  was  hedged  round  to  prevent  their  too 
near  approach.  He  who  blasphemed  was  to  be  stoned 
without  mercy.  None  but  the  priests  were  allowed  to 
enter  into  the  Holy  place  of  the  Temple ;  none  but  the 
high  priest  into  the  Holy  of  Holies.  The  earth  swallowed 
up  those  who  would  intrude  into  the  priestly  office.  Oza 
was  struck  dead  for  only  putting  his  hand  to  lay  hold  of 
the  ark.  Forty-two  children  were  devoured  by  bears  be- 
cause they  did  not  reverence  the  prophet  of  God;  and  for 
using  the  sacred  vessels  out  of  the  Temple,  King  Baltasser 
was  dethroned  and  slain,  and  his  kingdom  brought  to  an 
end.  These  and  other  examples  show  the  value  of  a 
spirit  of  reverence  in  the  sight  of  God.  And  as  it  had  to 
be  taught  to  the  world  of  old  before  they  could  receive 
the  teaching  of  our  Lord,  so  it  is  the  very  soil  in  which 
alone  faith  lives  and  thrives.  "The  fear  of  the  Lord  is 
the  beginning  of  wisdom."  It  should,  then,  be  ceaselessly 
enforced  by  the  teacher,  both  in  word  and  example. 

APPENDIX  B. 

Archdiocese  of  San  Francisco,  California.  Second  An- 
nual Report  of  Superintendent  of  Schools.  1916-1917. 
Rev.  Ralph  Hunt: 

The  Teacher — 

It  may  be  a  trite  saying  that  "the  teacher  is  the  school," 
but  it  is  not  so  sure  that  the  significance  of  this  obvious 
educational  maxim  is  always  recognized.  At  any  rate,  it  is 

58 


Appendices. 


the  fashion  with  educational  systems  nowadays  to  impose 
unnecessary  restrictions  on  the  teacher,  and  in  general 
to  subordinate  his  interests  to  the  exigencies  of  the  system. 
This  is  an  inversion  of  the  true  order.  The  system  exists 
for  the  teacher,  not  the  teacher  for  the  system.  Text 
books,  methods,  curricula  and  all  the  paraphernalia  used  in 
teaching  are  simply  the  instruments  in  the  teacher's  hands, 
and,  however  well  adapted  to  their  purpose,  will  be  only  as 
effective  as  the  teacher  makes  them.  Every  appliance 
depends  for  its  success  upon  the  intelligence  with  which  it 
is  used,  and,  just  as  the  bungling  mechanic,  with  the 
choicest  tools,  will  botch  his  work,  so  too  will  the  unskill- 
ful teacher  fail  even  with  the  best  of  methods.  Indeed,  it  will 
be  admitted  that  the  very  perfection  of  the  instrument,  or 
the  method,  will  in  all  such  cases  only  enhance  the  failure. 
Hence,  under  whatever  system  or  with  whatever  methods, 
the  paramount  factor  in  education  will  always  be  the 
teacher. 

APPENDIX  C. 

Catholic  Educational  Association.  Bulletin,  Vol.  IV,  No.  i. 
Report  of  the  Proceedings  and  Addresses  of  the  Fourth 
Annual  Meeting,  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  July  8-n,  1907.  Pages 
239-243 : 

In  the  elementary  school  the  first  of  all  the  studies  is 
language.  The  child  is  taught  to  read  and  write  and  to 
analyze  more  or  less  closely  the  words  and  sentences  he  is 
using.  The  tools  employed  are  readers,  writing  books, 
spellers  and  grammars.  The  pedagogical  value  of  these 
studies  consists  in  the  fact  that  by  them  we  come  in  direct 
contact  with  all  human  learning  and  that  they  furnish  the 
mind  with  the  most  natural  and  effective  means  for  de- 
veloping the  powers  of  observation  and  reasoning.  For 
the  first  three  or  four  years  the  child  is  engaged  in  the 
mechanical  processes  of  learning  to  read  and  write.  When 
he  can  master  the  printed  and  the  written  word  he  is  put 
to  the  acquisition  of  ideas  through  the  literary  selections 
he  finds  in  his  readers. 

Now,  what  pedagogical  value  have  religious  studies  in 
this  phase  of  the  student's  development?  I  take  it  that 
the  religious  studies  in  the  lowest  grades  are  of  the  sim- 
plest description.  They  consist  mainly  in  memorizing 

59 


Appendices. 


the  prayers  and  in  the  acquisition  of  the  formulae  which 
contain  the  essential  truths  of  religion. 

Of  course,  if  your  school  is  divided  into  water-tight 
compartments  and  religion  is  kept  in  one,  this  instruction 
has  no  influence  either  on  reading  or  writing  and  has  no 
pedagogical  value  beyond  the  exercise  of  the  memory  and 
whatever  influence  may  be  exerted  on  the  will.  But 
if  the  compartments  are  not  water-tight,  this  religious 
instruction  may,  in  the  very  lowest  grades,  supply  the 
teacher  with  a  most  efficient  instrument  in  developing  the 
child's  mind. 

What  is  reading?  It  is  the  power  of  recognizing  the 
word  behind  the  symbol.  This  is  the  essence  of  reading, 
whether  it  is  the  power  of  reading  Chinese  or  English. 
But  we  must  read  understandingly  and  the  child  is  first  put 
to  recognizing  the  symbol  for  the  common  words  of  the 
language,  the  baby  words,  the  words  with  which  he  is 
familiar. 

The  child's  spoken  vocabulary  is  therefore  the  first 
instrument  for  teaching  reading. 

But  we  all  have  two  languages.  There  is  the  language 
of  conversation  and  the  language  of  literature.  The  one 
is  the  common  vocabulary,  the  other  is  the  elevated  style. 
The  object  of  reading  is  to  introduce  the  child  to  the 
elevated  style  and  to  furnish  him  with  the  literary  vocabu- 
lary. The  difference  after  all  between  the  educated  man 
and  the  uneducated  is  chiefly  made  evident  in  the  manner 
of  speaking. 

Now,  here  the  religious  teacher  has  from  the  very  start 
an  immense  pedagogical  advantage  over  the  secular  teacher. 
The  latter  is  confined  to  the  "cat  and  dog"  and  "bat  and 
ball"  vocabulary  and  the  little  things  of  child  life,  the 
former  has  already  opened  the  child's  ears  to  the  myste- 
rious voices  of  the  tabernacle  and  taught  him  to  answer, 
"Speak,  Lord,  for  Thy  servant  heareth."  Prayer  is  an 
elevation  of  the  heart  and  it  expresses  itself  in  an  ele- 
vated vocabulary.  Side  by  side  with  the  vocabulary  of  the 
common  life  which  the  Catholic  child  is  acquiring  with  his 
secular  brother,  he  is  also  learning  a  literary  vocabulary  by 
memorizing  the  prayers.  The  religious  teacher,  therefore, 
has  two  vocabularies  to  draw  from  in  teaching  reading 
and  can  the  earlier  furnish  the  child  with  examples  of  the 
elevated  style. 

But  it  is  as  the  pupil  advances  in  the  elementary  grades 

60 


Appendices. 


that  religious  instruction  becomes  of  unique  pedagogical 
value  in  the  teaching  of  language.  From  the  earliest  ages 
experience  has  shown  that  the  most  perfect  instrument  of 
literary  education  is  the  classic,  the  work  in  which  the 
highest  thoughts  are  expressed  in  a  master's  style.  For 
that  reason  we  teach  the  children  from  the  lowest  grades  to 
read,  to  understand  and  often  to  commit  to  memory  selec- 
tions from  the  classic  authors.  By  its  terms  the  secular 
school  is  shut  off  from  religion,  and  in  all  art  religion  is 
the  inspiration  of  the  best  we  have.  But  the  domain  of 
religion  is  open  to  the  teacher  of  the  religious  school.  Nay, 
more,  if  the  religious  school  is  to  live  up  to  its  name, 
religion  should  be  used  for  pedagogical  purposes  wherever 
and  whenever  it  is  possible  to  use  it.  Of  course,  if  you 
mean  by  religious  teaching  a  half  hour's  instruction  in  the 
catechism,  while  the  rest  of  the  day's  program  is  just  a 
reproduction  of  the  public  school  curriculum,  I  will  admit 
that  you  can  do  very  little  educational  work  with  religion, 
either  in  the  line  of  literature  or  in  any  other  line.  But  if 
religious  studies  are  barred  from  no  hour  of  the  school 
program,  and  if  they  are  wisely  used,  they  can  be  made  of 
the  highest  utility,  especially  in  the  teaching  of  English 
literature. 

The  historical  reason  for  that  statement  is  that  English 
literature,  more  than  any  other  literature,  is  affected  by  one 
book  and  that  a  religious  book,  the  Bible.  The  Bible  was 
done  into  English  at  a  time  the  language  was  forming 
and  it  has  left  an  indelible  impress  upon  the  English  speech. 
This  is  true  of  the  Bible  whether  in  the  Douay  or  the 
Protestant  version.  The  Douay,  although  the  older  in 
point  of  time,  is  younger  in  the  point  of  language.  It  has 
been  the  fashion  to  criticize  the  Douay  version  because  of 
its  bad  English,  but  where  that  criticism  has  not  arisen 
from  purely  polemical  motives  it  has  come  from  a  false 
notion  of  what  good  English  really  is,  or  from  certain 
canons  of  taste  about  which  there  can  be  no  disputing. 
Considering  the  Bible  from  the  literary  side,  the  differences 
between  the  Douay  and  the  King  James  version  are  mostly 
superficial,  and  the  former  can  be  made  as  effectively 
as  the  latter  an  instrument  for  the  formation  of  style. 

But  the  Bible  is  an  intensely  religious  book.  So  re- 
ligious is  it  that  the  law  has  justly  banished  it  from  the 
secular  school.  Catholics  rightly  make  a  firm  stand  when- 
ever the  Bible  is  introduced  into  the  public  schools,  even 

61 


Appendices. 


under  the  guise  of  a  mere  literary  class  book.  If  the  Bible 
is  to  be  used  at  all  for  any  purpose  it  must  first  and  fore- 
most be  used  as  a  religious  book. 

Of  course,  when  I  speak  of  using  the  Bible  in  the  school, 
I  am  not  thinking  of  the  old-fashioned  Protestant  idea 
that  the  whole  Bible  without  note  or  comment  should  be 
put  indiscriminately  into  children's  hands.  I  am  thinking 
of  the  use  of  selections  from  the  Bible  suitable  to  the  age 
and  mental  development  of  the  pupils. 

To  make  my  meaning  clear  I  will  take  an  imaginary 
school  with  an  eight  years'  course.  The  children  in  the 
various  grades  have  been  taught  and  can  recite  selections 
from  Longfellow  and  Scott,  from  Irving  or  Webster,  or 
even  from  the  writings  of  American  or  foreign  Catholics. 
Yet,  when  I  come  to  examine  the  children  in  this  imag- 
inary school,  I  find  they  have  only  the  vaguest  idea  of  that 
first  and  grandest  of  Christian  poems,  the  Magnificat  of 
the  Mother  of  God,  while  they  have  no  idea  at  all  of 
Zachary's  Benedictus,  the  swan  song  of  the  Ancient  Dis- 
pensation. They  know  by  heart  what  Mrs.  Hemans  wrote 
about  the  boy  on  the  burning  deck,  but  not  a  word  have 
they  of  David's  lament  for  Saul  and  Jonathan,  or  "The 
Lord  is  my  Shepherd,"  or  the  heart-broken  verses  of  the 
Miserere.  Tennyson's  sweet  numbers  are  familiar  to  their 
ear,  but  the  soul-haunting  sayings  of  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount :  "Behold  the  lilies  of  the  field  how  they  grow,"  the 
splendid  simplicity  of  the  parables  by  the  Lake  of  Gallilec, 
the  majestic  march  of  the  tragedy  of  the  Passion — these 
things  they  know  only  as  in  a  glass  darkly,  hearing  them 
from  the  altar  during  the  Sunday  Mass  or  translated  into 
the  base  language  to  which  the  writers  of  Bible  histories 
seem  to  be  condemned. 

What  a  tremendous  waste  of  opportunity  in  this  imag- 
inary religious  school.  Here  is  the  school  existing  for  the 
purpose  of  teaching  religion.  There  is  at  hand  religious 
instruction  of  the  highest  quality  couched  in  language  that 
at  times  makes  it  difficult  for  us  to  believe  those  who  say 
that  the  very  words  were  not  dictated  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 
The  instruction  itself  is  eminently  suited  for  children 
and  is  put  in  such  a  way  that  it  captures  their  imagination 
and  fires  their  wills  while  enlightening  their  understanding. 
They  instinctively  take  to  it  as  if  their  ears  were  still 
used  to  the  voice  of  God  walking  in  the  garden  of  inno- 
cence. Now  this  religious  instruction  is  also  of  the  highest 

62 


Appendices. 


value  in  forming  literary  style  and  cultivating  literary 
taste.  Its  pedagogical  use  is  two-fold,  religious  and  secu- 
lar, and  these  uses  are  not  antagonistic,  but  reinforce  one 
another.  Yet  our  imaginary  religious  school  leaves  this 
magnificent  instrument  to  rust  and  proceeds  to  perform  its 
task  with  second-hand  tools  and  worked-over  materials. 

APPENDIX  D. 

Catholic  Educational  Association  Bulletin,  Vol.  IV,  No.  I. 
Report  of  the  Proceedings  and  Addresses  of  the  Fourth 
Annual  Meeting,  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  July  8-n,  1907.  Pages 
243-244  : 

The  value  of  history  as  an  instrument  of  education,  even 
of  elementary  education,  is  denied  by  none.  But  what  is 
the  educational  value  of  history?  Does  it  consist  in  know- 
ing strings  of  dates  or  lists  of  kings  or  the  results  of 
sieges,  battles,  elections  and  the  like?  I  am  sure  there  is 
little  if  any  educational  value  in  these  things.  The  peda- 
gogical value  of  history  consists  in  this,  that  it  broadens 
the  mind  as  one's  horizon  is  broaded  who  stands  upon  a 
mountain  top  and  sees  woods,  fields,  lakes,  rivers,  towns 
lying  between  the  everlasting  ocean  and  the  eternal  hills. 
But  this  view  of  the  past  is  merely  an  unfixed  photograph 
unless  we  are  taught  to  see  the  one  increasing  purpose 
that  runs  through  all  the  ages  and  how  that  men's  thoughts 
are  widened  with  the  process  of  the  suns.  History  is 
really  the  record  of  God's  deeds  through  men.  Res  gestae 
Dei  per  homines.  It  is  from  history  taught  in  this  manner 
that  we  obtain  the  true  solution  of  the  records  of  the  past ; 
it  offers  the  only  hope  of  reading  the  riddle  of  the  future. 

Yet  what  history  can  begin  to  compare  with  the  Bible 
history  and  Church  history  for  qualities  such  as  these? 
Bible  history  itself  was  written  under  divine  inspiration 
precisely  for  the  purpose  of  recording  the  manner  by  which 
God's  merciful  design  for  the  redemption  of  man  was  ac- 
complished, first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  then  the  full  corn 
in  the  ear. 

As  in  elementary  schools  we  cannot  begin  with  formal 
history  until  the  final  years ;  we  are  compelled  to  introduce 
the  study  of  history  by  stories,  wonder  tales,  biographies 
and  the  like.  There  is  no  history  that  lends  itself  to  this 
treatment  like  Bible  history.  The  stories  of  the  infancy 

63 


Appendices. 


of  our  Lord  have  a  wonderful  attraction  for  children. 
They  will  listen  to  them  forever  and  reproduce  them  with 
delight.  At  a  very  early  age  they  learn  to  love  the  history 
of  the  sacred  Passion  and  to  walk  with  our  Savior  from 
Gethsemani  to  Calvary.  The  Old  Testament  is  packed  with 
material.  The  Garden  of  Paradise,  Cain  and  Abel,  the 
Deluge,  the  Patriarchs,  the  story  of  Joseph,  Moses,  the 
Judges,  the  Kings,  Elias  and  Eliseus,  the  prophets  of  Juda, 
the  Exile,  the  Machabees,  Peter,  and  Stephen,  and  Paul, 
this  is  the  history  by  which  the  world  was  molded  into 
the  form  of  Christian  civilization  and  beside  it  there  is  no 
finer  or  better  tempered  pedagogical  instrument  to  hand. 

There  is  just  one  remark  I  would  make  about  the  teach- 
ing of  Bible  history  in  the  elementary  schools,  and  that  is 
that  it  should  be  as  far  as  possible  in  the  words  of  the 
Bible.  I  do  not  believe,  as  I  have  already  said,  that  the 
Bible  should  be  used  as  a  text-book,  but  whatever  text- 
book is  used  should  be  couched  in  the  ipsissima  verba  of 
the  sacred  volume.  Moreover,  such  chronology  as  is  intro- 
duced should  be  of  the  most  general  description,  and 
especial  care  should  be  taken  to  keep  from  the  minds  of  the 
children  the  idea  that  the  Church  or  the  truth  of  God's 
revelation  is  bound  up  with  any  of  the  numerous  systems 
of  Biblical  chronology  that  learned  men  have  devised. 

APPENDIX  E. 

A  Practical  Commentary  on  Holy  Scripture,  by  Fred- 
erick Justus  Knecht,  D.  D.  Herder,  St.  Louis.  Preface 
to  English  translation,  by  Rev.  Michael  F.  Glancey.  Pages 
xiv,  xv,  xvi,  xvii,  xviii,  xix : 

Leaving  the  domain  of  general  Catechetics,  we  now  come 
to  that  branch  which  is  the  subject-matter  of  the  present 
volume,  viz.  Bible  History.  And,  first  of  all,  it  may  be 
asked :  What  place  does  Bible  History  hold  in  a  course  of 
religious  instruction?  Bible  History  is  not  the  foundation 
on  which  religious  instruction  rests,  nor  the  centre  round 
which  it  revolves,  nor  the  goal  towards  which  it  tends.  Our 
religion  centres  in  pur  faith,  which  is  not  a  condensed  ex- 
tract from  Bible  History,  but  conies  from  the  Church.  Not 
Bible  History,  then,  but  the  teaching  of  the  Church,  must, 
on  Catholic  principles,  be  at  once  the  beginning,  middle 
and  end  of  religious  instruction.  Hence  Bible  History,  to 

64 


Appendices. 


claim  a  place  in  religious  instruction,  must  do  so  only 
inasmuch  as  it  bears  on  the  doctrines  of  faith.  If  this 
principle  be  kept  steadily  in  view,  Bible  History  may  be 
made  to  render  most  valuable  service  in  religious  instruc- 
tion. The  illustrative  light  it  throws  on  doctrinal  truths 
makes  them  more  easily  intelligible.  They  become  invested 
with  a  concrete  form,  are  clothed  with  flesh  and  blood, 
breathe  the  breath  of  life,  and  move  like  living  truths 
before  our  eyes.  In  the  Cathechism,  they  appear  as  cold 
abstracts  and  mere  outlines.  Thus  Bible  History  becomes 
an  object-lesson  in  faith,  a  veritable  pictorial  Cathechism. 
How  powerfully,  for  instance,  is  the  truth  of  an  all-ruling 
Providence  illustrated  by  the  histories  of  Joseph  and  Abra- 
ham !  What,  again,  is  better  calculated  to  teach  the  power 
of  prayer  than  the  stories  of  Moses  praying  while  the 
Israelites  fought,  and  of  the  Church  praying  for  the  im- 
prisoned Peter?  On  the  other  hand,  the  fate  of  Judas  and 
the  rejection  of  Juda  show  forth,  in  all  their  hideous 
deformity,  the  terrible  consequences  of  resistance  to  grace ; 
while  the  history  of  the  fall  of  Eve  and  of  Peter  brings 
out  the  necessity  of  avoiding  dangerous  occasions.  In  this 
way,  Bible  History  at  once  proves  and  illustrates  doctrinal 
truth.  And  it  likewise  develops  and  expands  such  truth. 
The  Catechism  tells  us,  indeed,  how  and  why  Christ  suf- 
fered, but  Bible  History  gives  a  full  and  detailed  account 
of  His  sufferings,  and  so  enables  us  better  to  realize  the 
infinite  love  of  God  and  the  enormity  of  sin.  The  texts 
of  Scripture  that  in  the  Catechism  stand  isolated  and  shorn 
of  their  context,  are  now  seen  in  the  light  of  their  sur- 
roundings and  speak  to  us  with  a  new  force  and  meaning. 
Moreover,  Bible  History  serves  to  complete  the  Catechism. 
The  Catechism,  for  example,  is  silent  about  miracles,  about 
God's  mercy  and  forbearance,  His  patience  and  long- 
suffering.  Of  humility,  and  indeed  of  many  other  virtues, 
it  is  also  silent,  except  that  it  arranges  them  over  against 
the  opposing  vices.  But  would  we  learn  their  nature  and 
properties,  and  how  pleasing  they  are  to  God,  it  is  to  Bible 
History  that  we  must  turn.  The  Catechism  is  monosyllabic 
in  stating  the  duties  that  children  owe  to  their  parents, 
masters  to  their  servants,  and  vice  versa;  whereas  the 
history  of  the  centurion's  servant,  of  Heli's  sons,  and  of 
Tobias  surrounds  these  duties  with  a  halo  of  interpreting 
light.  Again,  Bible  History  exhibits  religious  truth  in  its 
bearing  and  action  on  the  most  varied  states  and  condi- 

65 


Appendices. 


tions.  Virtue  and  vice  stand  before  us,  with  life-blood 
coursing  through  their  veins,  in  attractive  beauty  or  re- 
pellent ugliness.  The  Good  Samaritan  invites  to  mercy; 
Job,  in  his  resignation  to  God's  will,  is  a  beacon-light  to 
the  sorrowing ;  the  Apostles  going  forth  from  the  scourges, 
and  rejoicing  that  they  were  accounted  worthy  to  suffer 
for  Christ,  invest  with  a  startling  reality  the  beatitude: 
Blessed  are  they  that  suffer  persecution  for  justice'  sake. 

From  all  this  it  is  clear  that  Bible  History  is  not  to  be 
read,  as  too  often  it  is,  merely  as  a  story-book;  that  it  is 
to  be  studied,,  not  on  its  own  account,  but  because  it  im- 
parts life  and  vigour,  picturesqueness  and  comprehensive- 
ness to  religious  instruction;  because  it  elucidates,  proves, 
enforces  and  illustrates  the  truths  that  go  to  make  up 
religious  instruction.  But,  as  Dr.  Knecht  insists,  in  order 
that  Bible  History  may  be  in  a  position  to  render  these 
services,  it  must  be  "taught  in  the  closest  connexion  with 
the  Catechism".  "Catechism  and  Bible  History  must  mu- 
tually interpenetrate  ^  ["In  inniger  gegenseitiger  Durch- 
dringung"],  for  only  in  this  way  is  a  systematic  course  of 
religious  instruction  possible"  (p.  9).  Catechism  and  Bible 
History  must  go  hand  in  hand,  but  Catechism  must  be  in 
the  van.  Catechism  is  the  guiding  principle,  and  Bible 
History  its  handmaid. 

These  are  the  principles,  weighty  though  elementary,  on 
which  Dr.  Knecht  and  all  writers  on  Catechetics  are  gen- 
erally agreed.  And  how  does  practice  harmonize  with 
principles?  Is  practice  attuned  to  principle?  Or  are  the 
two  in  hopeless  discord?  To  begin  with,  how  many  teach- 
ers have  mastered  the  reason  why  Bible  History  has  a  place 
in  religious  instruction?  How  many,  or  how  few,  realize 
the  fact  that  Bible  History  and  Catechism  should  be 
"taught  in  the  closest  connexion"?  And  what  percentage 
of  those  who  have  grasped  this  truth  put  it  in  practice? 
There  is  no  denying  the  patent  fact  that,  as  a  rule,  the 
two  are  not  taught  concurrently,  and  are  not  made  to  run 
on  parallel  lines.  Ten  to  one,  the  Bible  History  set  down 
for  a  class  in  a  given  year  has  no  connexion  whatever  with 
the  doctrinal  instruction  of  that  year.  Thus,  while  children 
are  being  instructed  in  the  Holy  Eucharist,  their  Scripture 
History  turns  on  that  singularly  uninspiring  period  em- 
braced by  the  reigns  of  the  kings  of  Israel  and  Juda !  All 
this  comes  from  being  enslaved  to  the  chronological  sys- 
tem. This  is  the  root  of  the  evil  to  which  the  axe  must 

66 


Appendices. 


be  laid.  Forgetting  the  plain  principle  that  should  underlie 
the  teaching  of  all  Bible  History,  and  utterly  ignoring 
the  profit  or  loss  to  the  children,  we  have  stumbled  over 
the  crooked  idea  that  Bible  History  must  be  taught  chron- 
ologically even  in  our  poor  schools.  I  am  far  from  deny- 
ing, nay,  I  affirm  that  a  systematic  course  of  Bible  History 
should  be  given  when  time  and  facilities  are  not  wanting, 
as  in  our  upper  schools  and  colleges.  But  in  our  poor 
schools,  where  the  time  barely  suffices  to  give  the  neces- 
sary instruction  and  to  drive  it  home  with  religious  effect, 
a  slavish  adhesion  to  chronology  is  to  sacrifice  realities  to 
figures.  To  talk  of  a  systematic  course  in  this  sense,  under 
such  circumstances,  is  nothing  short  of  preposterous.  In 
the  chronological  system,  Bible  History  cannot,  except 
by  a  happy  accident,  enforce  and  illustrate  the  religious 
instruction.  Far  from  being  a  help,  it  is  a  drawback.  In- 
stead of  elucidating,  it  obscures.  No  longer  the  hand- 
maid, it  seeks  to  be  on  an  equality  with  the  mistress.  For 
religious  instruction  to  succeed  in  its  great  purpose,  it 
must,  as  Dr.  Knecht  rightly  says,  be  conducted  on  a 
"unitive"  plan.  The  unit  is  the  doctrinal  instruction,  with 
which  the  Bible  History  must  be  brought  into  line,  unless 
we  are  to  fly  in  the  teeth  of  all  our  principles.  Let  me 
now  briefly  illustrate  what  I  mean  by  this  unification  or 
concentration  of  subject  that  I  am  advocating,  lest  per- 
haps I  be  twitted  with  pulling  down  without  attempting 
to  build  up.  Instead,  therefore,  of  teaching  children  who 
are  being  instructed  in  the  Blessed  Eucharist  about  the 
kings  of  Israel  and  Juda,  I  would  teach  them  the  Scrip- 
ture History  of  the  Blessed  Eucharist,  as  in  the  following 
plan  [From  Scripture  History  for  Schools  (No.  3).  Ap- 
proved for  use  in  the  Diocese  of  Birmingham]  : 

THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST. 
I.    Types  of  the  Holy  Eucharist : 

1.  The  Sacrifice  of  Melchisedech. 

2.  The  Paschal  Lamb. 

3.  The  Manna. 

4.  The  Food  of  Elias. 

5.  The  Jewish  Sacrifices. 
II.    The  Prophecy  of  Malachias. 

III.    Christ  promises  a  new  Sacrifice: 

1.  At  Jacob's  Well, 

2.  After  the  multiplication  of  the  loaves. 

67 


Appendices. 


IV.    The  Last  Supper.— Institution  of  the  Blessed 

Eucharist. 

V.    The  two  disciples  going  to  Emmaus. 
VI.    Miracles  illustrative  of  the  Blessed  Eucharist : 

1.  Water  made  wine  at  Cana. 

2.  Multiplication  of  loaves. 

3.  Christ  walking  on  the  waters. 

4.  The  Transfiguration. 

The  important  subject  of  the  Church  may  be  treated 
somewhat  similarly. 

THE  CHURCH. 
Part  L    The  Old  Testament. 
I.     Introductory. 
II.    The  Church  a  Family. 

1.  Noe.    The  Ark. 

2.  Call  of  Abraham. — The  promises  to  Abra- 

ham, Isaac  and  Jacob. 

III.  The  Church  a  People. 

1.  Moses. 

2.  Giving  of  the  Law. 

3.  The  Tabernacle. 

4.  Entrance  into  Promised  Land. 

IV.  The  Church  a  Kingdom. 

1.  David. 

2.  Solomon. — Building  of  the  Temple. 

3.  The  kingdom  broken  up. 

V.    God  promises  to  set  up  a  New  Kingdom. 

Part  II.   The  Gospels. 
VI.     Introductory. 

VII.    Christ  the  King.— The  Kingdom  of  God. 
VIII.     Parables  on  the  kingdom  of  God. 

1.  The  Hidden  Treasure. 

2.  The  Pearl  of  Great  Price. 

3.  The  Wheat  and  the  Cockle. 

4.  The  Drag-net. 

5.  The  Leaven. 

6.  The  Mustard  Seed. 

7.  The  Good  Shepherd. 
IX.    Jesus  calls  Disciples. 

68 


Appendices. 


X.    The  first  Miraculous  Draught  of  Fishes. 
XL    Peter's  Confession  of  Faith.— The  Foundation 

of  the  Church  of  Christ. 
XII.     Christ  promises  that  Peter's  faith  shall  not  fail. 

XIII.  The   second  Miraculous   Draught  of   Fishes. — 

Christ  makes  Peter  Chief  Shepherd. 

XIV.  The  Mission  of  the  Apostles. 

Part  III.    History  of  the  Church  After  Our  Lord's 

Ascension. 

XV.    The  Opening  of  the  Church. 
XVI.     Peter  Cures  the  Lame  Man. 
XVII.    The  First  Christians. 
XVIII.     The   Apostles  work  miracles;   are   imprisoned, 

etc. 

XIX.     Conversion  of  St.  Paul. 
XX.     Peter  visits  the  Churches. 
XXI.     Peter's  vision. — Cornelius. 
XXII.    Peter  imprisoned  and  set  free  by  angel. 

XXIII.  The  Council  of  Jerusalem. 

XXIV.  Primacy  of  St.  Peter.— Summary. 

In  a  word,  the  Scripture  History  should  be  grouped 
round  the  central  doctrines  of  our  faith. 

APPENDIX  F. 

Tracts,  Theological  and  Ecclesiastical.  By  John  Henry 
Cardinal  Newman.  Longmans:  1899.  The  Rheims  and 
Douay  Versions  of  Holy  Scripture,  page  410. 

Such  is  the  history  of  the  Rheims  and  Douay  Bible,  of 
which  there  have  been  two  editions  of  the  Old  Testament, 
1609-10  and  1635,  and  eight  (including  the  New  York 
Protestant  reprint)  of  the  New — 1582,  1600,  1621,  1633, 
1738,  1788,  1816-1818,  and  1834.  This  version  comes  to 
us  on  the  authority  of  certain  divines  of  the  Cathedral 
and  College  of  Rheims  and  of  the  University  of  Douay, 
confirmed  by  the  subsequent  indirect  recognition  of  Eng- 
lish, Scotch  and  Irish  Bishops,  and  by  its  general  reception 
by  the  faithful.  It  never  has  had  any  episcopal  impri- 
matur, much  less  has  it  received  any  formal  approbation 
from  the  Holy  See. 

69 


Appendices. 


APPENDIX  G. 

"Teaching  of  Liturgy."  Paper  by  Father  Yorke  at  the 
Catholic  Educational  Conference  at  Buffalo,  1917.  Ex- 
tract : 

These  suggestions  are  not  mere  theories.  I  have  been 
working  on  them  for  over  twenty  years,  and,  while  I  have 
not  always  or  everywhere  attained  my  ideal,  still  the  results 
have  met  with  approval  from  priests,  teachers  and  parents 
interested  in  such  matters.  Indeed,  the  most  serious  criti- 
cism I  have  heard  was  from  a  Bishop  after  Confirmation 
— that  it  was  too  perfect. 

Therefore,  I  will  not  set  them  forth  as  the  abstract 
proposals  of  a  course  of  studies,  but  will  simply  tell  in 
narrative  form  what  I  do,  giving  my  reasons  why,  where 
they  may  not  be  self-apparent. 

My  apparatus  consists  of  a  little  pamphlet  of  46  pages, 
bound  in  paper  and  selling  for  a  few  cents.  It  is  published 
in  this  cheap  form  because  by  Christmas  it  has  usually 
shared  the  fate  of  the  penny  Catechism,  and  the  boys 
especially  have  twisted,  turned  and  tortured  it  into  all 
kinds  of  shapes,  and  have  developed  an  almost  diabolic 
ingenuity  in  secreting  it  in  the  most  unexpected  and  inac- 
cessible parts  of  their  garments.  In  order  that  you  may 
be  better  able  to  follow  me,  I  have  sent  a  few  dozen 
copies  to  be  distributed  among  you.  The  children  know  it 
as  the  Mass  Book. 

Half  the  book,  from  page  10  to  34,  is  taken  up  with  the  Or- 
der of  the  Mass.  I  notice  that  even  the  new  English  Missals 
stick  to  the  "Ordinary  of  the  Mass,"  which  is  not  Roman. 
Our  Missal  has  Ordo  Missae,  not  Ordinarium  Missae.  I 
put  the  Order  of  the  Mass  not  at  the  beginning  of  the 
book,  _ but  in  the  middle — first,  because  that  is  the  place  it 
occupies  in  the  authorized  Missal,  reminding  us  that  Sun- 
day is  the  weekly  observance  of  the  Resurrection,  and  be- 
cause, to  reach  the  Proper,  you  have  to  turn  only  half  the 
number  of  pages,  and,  last,  but  not  least,  because  it  is 
easier  on  the  binding.  In  that  Order  of  the  Mass  there  is 
only  what  is  in  the  Missal  with  the  rubrics,  of  course, 
practically  excised. 

As  in  the  Roman  Missal,  the  book  begins  with  the  Proper 
of  the  Masses  of  the  season — first,  Advent,  then  Christmas, 
then  Epiphany,  followed  by  Septuagesima  and  Lent.  After 
the  Order  of  the  Mass,  we  have,  on  page  35,  Easter,  then 

70 


Appendices. 


Ascesion  and  Pentecost,  with  Masses  for  Trinity,  Corpus 
Christi,  Blessed  Virgin,  Confirmation  and  First  Com- 
munion; the  last  two  are,  of  course,  extra-Liturgical,  but 
very  useful. 

If  you  examine  these  Masses  you  will  see  that  they  are 
all  built  on  a  uniform  system.  First,  a  seasonable  hymn 
called  the  Introit,  a  second  hymn  or  anthem  called  the 
Gradual,  a  third  hymn  called  the  Offertory,  and  a  fourth 
hymn  called  the  Communion.  These  hymns  are  not,  of 
course,  the  Liturgical  Introits  and  Graduals,  but  they  are 
sung  at  the  Introit  or  Gradual  of  the  Mass,  and  the  title 
makes  the  children  familiar  with  the  proper  names  of 
these  parts  of  the  Mass.  I  would  call  your  attention  to 
the  fact  that  I  have  made  the  Communion  an  anthem  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  that  there  is  always  one  Latin 
hymn  either  in  the  proper  or  in  the  common. 

You  know  that  in  the  Mass  there  are  three  lines  01 
prayers — first,  the  Sacrificial  Prayers  proper  to  the  priest 
as  sacrificer,  such  as  the  Preface  and  the  Canon ;  secondly, 
Personal  Devotional  Prayers  proper  to  the  priest  as  an 
individual,  such  as  the  Forty-second  Psalm  and  the  Con- 
fession ;  thirdly,  the  Prayers  belonging  to  the  people  or  the 
choir,  such  as  the  Introit,  Kyrie,  Gloria,  Credo,  and  the 
rest.  Now,  my  object  is  to  have  the  children  sing  or  recite 
in  English  what  a  college  choir  in  a  Gregorian  Mass  would 
chant  in  Latin,  remembering  always  that  in  the  Proper 
we  have  adapted  hymns  not  the  Liturgical  Introits,  Grad- 
uals, etc. 

If  you  will  begin  at  page  10,  we  will  run  briefly  through 
the  Mass.  The  children  assemble  in  church  at  the  hour  for 
their  Mass,  and,  kneeling  down,  they  make  their  prepara- 
tion, which  consists  of  what  the  priest  recites  at  the  foot  of 
the  altar.  Sometimes  a  priest  may  act  as  reader,  sometimes 
a  teacher,  sometimes  a  parishioner.  All  that  is  necessary 
is  that  he  read  slowly  and  clearly,  and  keep  his  wits  about 
him.  He  should  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  discipline 
of  the  children,  as  his  office  of  reader  will  need  his  whole 
attention. 

Having  finished  the  Preparation,  the  organ  gives  the  tune 
for  the  Introit,  and  at  that  signal  the  celebrant  enters 
the  sanctuary;  the  children  stand  and  immediately  begin 
the  Introit  hymn.  When  the  celebrant  has  arranged  the 
chalice,  and  has  come  to  the  foot  of  the  altar  (which 
should  be  done  in  the  interval  between  the  first  and  second 

71 


Appendices. 


verses),  the  children  kneel  and  continue  the  hymn.  By 
the  time  the  celebrant  has  read  the  Introit,  the  children 
have  finished,  and  immediately  the  reader  begins,  "Lord, 
have  mercy,"  which  is  continued  alternately  by  the  boys 
and  the  girls.  In  like  manner,  the  Gloria  is  said,  the  cele- 
brant timing  himself  not  to  go  ahead  of  the  children — a 
difficult  task  in  the  beginning,  especially  for  nervous  per- 
sons. 

After  the  Gloria  the  reader  recites  the  Collect  from  his 
Missal,  and  then  follows  with  the  Epistle  for  the  day.  By 
this  time  the  celebrant  has  finished  the  Gradual,  and  while 
the  book  is  changed,  the  children  rise  and  sing  their  Grad- 
ual verse.  After  the  Gospel  the  celebrant  turns  to  the 
children,  reads  the  Gospel  in  English,  makes  the  announce- 
ments, and  gives  the  instruction. 

The  reader  begins  with  the  celebrant,  "I  believe  in  one 
God,"  which  the  boys  and  girls  continue  alternately.  Here 
it  will  be  especially  necessary  for  the  celebrant  to  time 
himself  so  that  he  may  not  genuflect  at  the  Incarnatus 
before  the  children  have  come  to  it.  During  the  Offertory 
the  children  sing  their  hymn,  and  the  reader  begins  the 
Preface  with  the  celebrant.  The  children  recite  the  "Sanc- 
tus,"  and  there  is  silence  until  after  the  Elevation,  when 
they  sing  a  hymn  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 

The  "Our  Father"  is  recited  in  chorus,  and  the  "Agnus 
Dei"  by  the  boys  and  girls  alternately.  At  the  "Domine 
Non  Sum  Dignus"  they  may  sing  three  times  the  little 
hymn,  "O  Lord,  I  am  not  worthy."  Then  they  sing  the 
anthem  set  for  the  Communion;  the  reader  recites  the 
Post  Communion,  and  there  is  silence  to  the  end  of  the 
Mass,  when  they  sing  a  hymn  of  thanksgiving. 

You  see  at  once  that  the  children  are  kept  going  all  the 
time,  and  all  the  time  they  are  following  with  the  priest. 
You  see,  too,  it  requires  almost  perfect  drill,  because  if 
this  way  of  attending  Mass  is  not  done  with  precision  it 
degenerates  rapidly  into  a  riot.  Corruptio  optimi  pessima. 

I  begin  with  the  school  year,  which  is  the  season  after. 
Pentecost.  This  is  the  longest  of  all  the  seasons,  and 
gives  us  a  good  chance  to  ground  ourselves  in  the  work 
without  having  the  frequent  changes  in  the  hymns  proper 
to  the  other  seasons.  You  will  note,  too,  on  page  38,  that 
the  hymns  prescribed  are  easy  and  familiar,  so  that  even 
at  the  very  first  year  we  can  get  good  results.  Then  I 
divide  the  prayers  amongst  the  grades.  The  First  Grade 

72 


Appendices. 


learns  to  read  the  "Our  Father,"  the  "Kyrie,"  the  short 
responses  and  the  "Agnus  Dei,"  together  with  the  hymns, 
"Angel  of  God,"  "O  Lord,  I  am  not  worthy,"  etc.  In 
the  Second  Grade,  in  addition,  they  learn  the  "Sanctus," 
their  part  of  the  "Gloria,"  and  the  answers  to  Psalm  42. 
In  the  hymns  they  can  take  nearly  all  the  Intriots.  In  the 
Third  Grade  they  learn  to  read  the  Nicene  Creed  and  the 
Gospel  of  St.  John,  and  a  select  number  of  hymns.  In  the 
Fourth  Grade  they  read  and  get  a  general  explanation  of 
the  Offertory  Prayers  and  the  Canon,  and  they  should  now 
know  by  heart  all  their  own  part  of  the  Mass.  All  this 
can  be  done  by  giving  steady  and  systematic  instruction 
for  five  minutes  every  day  in  the  school.  Of  course,  I  take 
it  for  granted  that  the  teaching  of  the  hymns  is  taken  up 
in  the  regular  singing  period,  and  that  wherever  there  may 
be  reading,  parsing,  analysis,  etc.,  they  come  in  the  lan- 
guage period. 

Then,  on  Friday  afternoon,  I  bring  the  children  into  the 
church  and  put  them  through  the  Mass.  Continual  care 
has  to  be  given  to  prevent  them  from  drawling  the  hymns 
and  galloping  through  the  prayers.  After  three  or  four 
weeks,  the  drill  is  pretty  well  understood,  and  I  take  up 
parts  of  the  Mass,  such  as  the  Gloria  or  Credo,  and  give  a 
special  practice  on  reading  them  reverently  and  intelligently. 
Later  on,  as  the  seasons  change,  I  explain  their  significance 
and  the  meaning  of  the  hymns.  Through  it  I  intersperse 
now  on  one  day,  now  on  another,  short  instruction  on  the 
Church,  the  altar,  the  vestments,  and  the  like.  Before  Com- 
munion and  Confirmation  I  have  found  it  valuable  and 
interesting  to  the  children  to  take  them  into  the  sacristy 
and  sanctuary,  and  show  them  at  close  range  the  altar  and 
its  ornaments.  Some  people  object  to  this,  as  leading  to 
irreverence,  but  I  have  never  found  it  so  if  the  matter  is 
properly  handled. 


73 


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